I was disappointed to learn of CDOT’s denial of SMPA’s road closure permit on Hwy 550 after the unjustified hysteria created by a small handful of “elected officials.” I’d like to make clear that this elected official, in the strongest terms possible, supports the SMPA Red Mountain Electrical Reliability and Broadband Improvement Project. And I support it being executed as soon as possible.

I recognize this project will cause a scheduled inconvenience, however I argue that a loss of electricity, loss of internet and cell phone connectivity, a wildfire, and associated mudslides would be orders of magnitude more disruptive to business. If SMPA cannot complete this work, and a destructive fire starts because maintenance was delayed, we as ratepayers would shoulder the cost of a lawsuit through higher rates, just like PG&E in California. Additionally, one would think the post-fire mudslides plaguing I-70 would be a lesson in what SMPA is working to prevent.

It is true that we needed better communication from SMPA about the closures, but one must recognize the logistical difficulty in coordinating helicopter availability, arborists, linemen, CDOT approval, Forest Service approval, road flaggers, budgets, and weather. Helicopter availability is limited by their priority use on wildfires across the country.

Further, the claim that this project will “crush our economy as our businesses are finally rebounding after the COVID-19 closures” is not based on reality, as indicated by sales tax revenue and visitation numbers. While the pain and profits of Covid have not been evenly distributed, our region is over-saturated with tourism activity, and a planned, intermittent closure on Hwy 550 will not change this.

It is exactly this kind of unwarranted panic over a planned and controlled inconvenience that has deferred so many infrastructure projects across the United States, that we as a nation are now being forced to react to infrastructure failures on an emergency basis. This is a classic example where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

As a Ouray County Commissioner, I urge CDOT to approve SMPA’s Hwy 550 closure permit. And I urge the elected officials performatively panicking to please calm down and recognize that needlessly delaying this project will harm the whole region in the long-run.

Jake Niece
Ouray County Commissioner
jniece@ouraycountyco.gov