Cortez US 160 intersections to get signal and safety upgrades Monday

Two US 160 intersections in Cortez are about to turn into a slower, tighter stretch for anyone threading through town on the way to the Four Corners region or the San Juan country. Beginning Monday, June 15, Colorado Department of Transportation crews will start signal and safety upgrades at Mildred Road and Harrison Street, and motorists should expect single-lane and turn-lane closures in both directions while the work continues through August.

The project covers mile points 40.03 to 38.7 in Montezuma County and is being handled by Morton Electric, Inc. CDOT lists the job at $1.6 million, with work scheduled weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The agency says the package goes beyond routine maintenance, adding new signal lights, crosswalk striping, curb ramps, audible signals and other ADA upgrades aimed at making the corridor easier to use for drivers and people on foot at the same time.

That matters in Cortez because US 160 Main Street is not just a highway on a map. Julie Constan, CDOT’s regional transportation director, said the intersections connect neighborhoods, schools, businesses and destinations such as the park on Mildred Road. She said the upgrades are intended to improve accessibility, safety and reliability for people with disabilities, bicyclists and families using strollers. CDOT also says the new signal equipment will use vehicle detection technology that can adjust timing based on real-time demand, along with energy-efficient LED lights that use less electricity and require less maintenance than older signals.

The timing fits into a broader local safety picture that Cortez has already been mapping for itself. In the city’s 2025 Safety Action Plan, vulnerable road user crashes were concentrated mostly on Main Street in downtown Cortez, where State Highway 160 doubles as a downtown street and a through-route. The same plan says pedestrian-involved crashes were common on E Main Street, likely because of conflicts between people crossing and vehicles moving through, and residents repeatedly flagged Main Street crossings as a concern.

That is what gives this project its traveler impact. A quick fuel stop, a downtown lunch, or a turn toward a trailhead can take longer when a corridor like US 160 is narrowed by active construction. Cortez has been planning around that tension for years, from the 2015 Access Control Plan to downtown safety and streetscape work that reviewed Main Street from Denny Lake west to Hwy 491. Starting June 15, those planning documents become something visitors will feel in real time: a slower pass through town, but one meant to make the road easier to cross and easier to trust.