Douglas County Commissioner Steve Boand said construction on the
road is expected to begin in the next two years. The limited access
highway will stretch to the Castle Pines North interchange at I-25
just north of Castle Rock. The arterial roadway will ease traffic
congestion on Lincoln Avenue, one of two connections between Parker
and the highway.
But the alignment for the road could be affected if plans to
enlarge Rueter-Hess Reservoir are approved. The Parker Water and
Sanitation District, which is building the reservoir three miles
southwest of Parker, is awaiting approval from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers on a supplemental environmental impact study. The
district has proposed expanding the reservoir from 16,000 to 70,000
acre-feet.
“We have looked at dozens of alignments for the road. The plans
for a larger reservoir would displace the proposed alignment for
the connection to I-25,” said Fred Koch, director of engineering
services for Douglas County.
Koch said discussions between the county and the water district
are ongoing and nothing will be finalized until the two sides agree
on an alignment. The main issue is with a proposed 1,500-home
development called The Canyons. Roughly 3,500 acres of land was
rezoned in June 2000 to planned development status to make way for
the residential neighborhood.
“The issue is there is a reluctance for the county to reopen the
planned development plan for new road alignments,” Koch said. “It
seems simple to move (the road) south, but it’s not that
easy.”
Douglas County has offered to bridge three drainage runoffs into
the reservoir to lessen the impact on Rueter-Hess, but Koch said
Parker Water and Sewer District Manager Frank Jaeger is worried
about compromising the water quality. A message left for Jaeger was
not returned before press time.
The water district wants to move the alignment for Stroh Road
further south into The Canyons, but the developer does not want a
major roadway running through the subdivision.
Nanci Kerr, project manager for Alpert Companies, which is
developing the land for The Canyons, said she is “very interested”
in the discussions between the county and Parker water.
“We’re working hard to be cooperative and be good neighbors. We
realize the regional benefits of both the road and reservoir,” Kerr
said. “We’re hoping the alignment doesn’t affect our
plans.”
Alpert Companies still needs to submit a sketch plan and
preliminary and final plats for review by the county.
Stroh Road, an existing two-lane road on the north side of
Parker, ends at Motsenbocker Road. Koch said “the county feels that
the current alignment is compatible” and would not do anything to
preclude a larger reservoir.
“We have a proposal that’s reasonable and workable and I think
we can find a middle ground,” Koch said. “The road is probably
adding a layer of complication for approval of the (enlarged)
reservoir, but we don’t think we are being unreasonable. Water is
important, but so is transportation.”
County engineers are now conducting a study on how much traffic
volume they expect to be taken off Lincoln Avenue once Stroh Road
is completed.
Contact Chris Michlewicz at
cmichlewicz@ccnewspapers.net