Colorado requests $65M in federal relief to help with Pagosa Springs area flooding

The Colorado Department of Transportation on Tuesday asked for $65 million from the federal government to assist with significant road repairs in the southwest part of the state, which experienced immense flooding over the weekend.

The total is just an estimate of the damage, and the state wants $6.5 million released immediately to start work.

“Our team has already done incredible work to restore access, and will continue to do so,” Shoshana Lew, the department’s executive director, said in a statement. “We know from experience that the Federal Highway Administration are tremendous partners when we encounter emergencies, and we truly appreciate their quick engagement as we work in real time to determine damages and repair needs to keep Southwest Colorado moving.”

The department estimates the bulk of that money, around $45 million, would be for repairing the visible damage on roads. The rest would go toward fixing non-visible assumed damage, engineering costs, field preparation, maintenance crews and administration.

Storms between Oct. 22 and Oct. 25 brought up to 7 inches of rain in areas like Pagosa Springs, and the San Juan River reached 15.02 feet in Pagosa Springs — up from under 6 feet two days earlier — on Oct. 23, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It has since receded to around 7 feet as of Wednesday afternoon. As surrounding waterways overflowed, the flooding topped 4 feet on some roads and damaged significant thoroughfares in the area. Wolf Creek Pass along Highway 160, the main connector between Pagosa Springs and South Fork, closed at the start of the flooding and reopened Tuesday, though officials caution travelers to plan for delays as traffic narrows to single lanes in damaged areas.

“While (CDOT) continues to assess the full extent of structural damage to roads and bridges, it is clear that needs will be significant and immediate, especially in order to make as many repairs as possible before winter,” the request letter reads.

The department also reported damage on U.S. 160 west of Pagosa Springs, Red Mountain Pass on U.S. 550 and Colo. 151.

Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the flooding in La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Dolores, Hinsdale, San Miguel, Ouray, San Juan, Mineral, Alamosa and Rio Grande counties. That activated around 100 Colorado National Guard members to help with search and rescues. The state’s Transportation Commission approved $5 million on Monday to help with initial repair efforts.

Drivers can see real-time travel alerts and road conditions through CDOT’s COTrip website.