Evacuation route Baca Grande Evacuation Route inches closer to living up to its name

By Tricia Toney
Improvements to the “evacuation
route” out of the Baca have been
identified as the number one priority
for road work in the Crestone-Baca
area, and funding has been allocated
to at least get a good start on the
project.
In June, the Saguache County
Commissioners allocated $250,000
for road work in each of the three
county districts. Commissioner Tom
McCracken chose a section of the
evacuation route to receive the upgrades
in District One. This road is
also called “Baca Campus Road.” It
connects T Road with Wagon Wheel
Rd. and is an extension of Spanish
Creek Trail.
At the original funding meeting,
Road and Bridge Supervisor Randy
Arredondo estimated that $250,000
would pay for materials and fuel to
pave some 1.5 miles of dirt road.
Remaining costs, like labor, would
come out of the Road and Bridge Department’s
regular operating budget.
As the name implies, the “evacuation
route” is intended as an alternative
to Camino Baca Grande, in
case of a natural disaster. It should
also provide ingress access to emergency
vehicles.
In its current condition, the road
is inadequate to fulfill this purpose.
It features too many curves to be
efficient. Two cars traveling in opposite
directions are unable to pass
each other in certain stretches due to
eroded gravel, lack of weed control
and other issues.
Road and Bridge has requested
a survey to determine if and where
permissions from private landowners
will be required before the road
can be straightened. Signage is
needed as well. It is unclear how far
$250,000 will stretch.
Elsewhere in the county, Commissioner
Lynne Thompson chose
a section of Road 43.5 for paving in
District Two, near Center. Arredondo
estimated a cost of $375,000 to
pave the requested 1.75 miles there,
the excess cost being partially due
to the considerable distance to the
source of the road base, which is
near Crestone.
Commissioner McCracken questioned
the District Two plan, noting
that Thompson’s predecessor had
identified Road 38A as most in need
of improvement. No work has been
done on road 38A in the interceding
six years.
McCracken also questioned why
traffic counters procured by the
county several years ago were not
being used to assess road usage.
“One of my first priorities as a county
commissioner four years ago was to
get traffic counters so we could have
data on the roads that are most heavily
traveled,” McCracken said.
He has requested placing them
on various roads on several occasions.
“I do not understand why we
don’t collect the data on road traffic,
and make decisions about needs
based on data,” he added.
Commissioner Liza Marron of
District Three had modified her original
plan to pave Road T east of US
285, instead opting for overlays of
County Road X west of US 285 and to
finish the overlay on Road Z west of
Saguache.
This cheaper plan would upgrade
two already-paved, heavily-traveled
roads, and free up a surplus of
around $100,000 to be used on road
43.5. Marron further requested that
traffic counters be placed on Roads
43.5 and 38A. The data generated,
she said, could explain the choice to
prioritize road 43.5.
At a recent, unrelated meeting,
several La Garita residents had spoken
up about Road 38A needing attention.
District Two is first on the county
work schedule, followed by overlays
on Roads X and Z in District Three.
Finally, after a survey and engineering
plans are completed, improvements
will begin on the evacuation
route in District One.