Photo of Parachute area

Project Overview

The City of Steamboat Springs, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), and Routt County is studying improvements to US Highway 40 in the City of Steamboat Springs and Routt County, Colorado (see study area map).

The purpose of the US 40 project is to accommodate future travel demand on US 40 by reducing congestion, improving mobility, balancing multimodal use, and providing effective access along existing US 40 in the study area. The project will address identified transportation needs and is included in the West Steamboat Springs Area Plan 2006 Update, adopted June 19, 2008.

Although funding has not yet been identified for construction of any future improvements on US 40, the City may seek federal funding. Therefore, part of the study will involve receiving a clearance under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA process is used to objectively evaluate federally funded transportation improvements and fully disclose the potential positive and negative environmental consequences of those improvements.  FHWA and CDOT have determined that the appropriate level of NEPA documentation for this study is a Documented Categorical Exclusion.  

Scope of Study

The study will first look at existing and future transportation needs along the US 40 corridor, evaluating the needs of different transportation users and modes.  Next, alternatives will be developed to address or meet those needs.  The study will include a public involvement process to ensure that citizen concerns and opinions are considered and factored into decision making.  

The alternatives’ effect on environmental resources also will be studied.  Environmental resources that will be evaluated include:

Traffic

The existing traffic volumes and resulting congestion along US 40 west of Steamboat is one of the drivers of looking at improvements in this area. As part of the NEPA study, travel demand forecasts and traffic analyses were conducted. A traffic technical memorandum and a roundabout technical memorandum were developed as part of this effort. The traffic memorandum, US 40 Highway NEPA Study - West of Steamboat Springs: Traffic Technical Memo, shows relationships to previous studies, documents existing conditions, provides new traffic count data, presents future year traffic forecasts, and identifies future year traffic operations. The roundabout memorandum, US-40 & Elk River Rd. Steamboat Springs, CO Roundabout Analysis documents the roundabout analyses conducted for the US 40 and Elk River Road intersection and the resulting recommendations.

Relationship to Other Studies

Several local and regional plans discuss the need for improvements along US 40 to accommodate planned growth and development and associated traffic needs in the area west of Steamboat Springs. The US 40 project will draw upon those previous planning efforts in the development and screening of project alternatives.

TheWest Steamboat Springs Area Plan is an area plan completed by the City of Steamboat Springs and Routt County in 2006.  The plan, which was prepared with extensive public involvement, established an Urban Growth Boundary along the US 40 corridor approximately five miles west of the downtown area.  To help support the growing transportation needs of this area, the plan calls for improvements to US 40. 

The West Steamboat Springs US Highway 40 Systems Needs Study was completed by the City in August 2008.  The document will provide the basis for much of the traffic forecasting and other transportation analyses to be prepared for the NEPA study.  Assumptions used in traffic forecasts will be revisited.

Other plans that will be used to support the NEPA study include the following (to view these plans click on their link below):