BAYFIELD - F&M Construction of Bayfield, Colorado, under contract with the San Juan National Forest,
will begin construction in late April on a new road across Bureau of Reclamation land south of Vallecito Dam to connect County Road 501 with Forest Road 603. The new paved road will replace the current narrow road across the top of the dam, which crosses a weight-restricted bridge. The new road will be accessed from County Road 501 via a new bridge completed by the Forest Service last year to span the spillway below the dam. An environmental assessment for the project was completed in 2004 by the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the reservoir and dam, but the USFS holds the easement for public access. The contractor has been at the site this spring clearing trees out of the new roadway alignment. The Pine River Irrigation District has sold the downed trees to a local mill.
For more information, contact Allen McCaw, San Juan National Forest Civil Engineer, 970 385-1314.