Cottonwood Road reconstruction begins, full closure set in June

Cottonwood Road is now under reconstruction north of Dolores, putting a major forest route out of service in stretches for residents, ranch traffic, recreation access and timber hauling. The San Juan National Forest says the work on National Forest System Road 532 will improve about 7.57 miles of road and is meant to make the corridor safer and more useful for working-forest traffic.

The project began by May 27, and the Forest Service had earlier said work would start April 20 and continue through July 2026. Crews are rebuilding and resurfacing the road, replacing cattleguards, widening narrow sections and swapping out a one-lane, weight-restricted bridge over Mavreeso Creek for a large culvert. The agency says the changes are aimed at fixing limited sight distance, roadside vegetation issues and bridge weight limits.

That reconstruction will come with a full closure from June 8 through June 19 on the stretch between mileposts 3.7 and 4.6. During that window, Cottonwood Road will not serve as a through route between the Dolores Norwood Road and the West Dolores Road, including County Road 38 access on the west side. The Mavreeso Trailhead will also be closed at the southern end of the route.

Access will not disappear completely. The Forest Service says drivers will still be able to reach Mavreeso Creek Road from the West Dolores Road and County Road 38 side, and Cottonwood Creek from the Dolores Norwood Road side, but no through traffic will be allowed while bridge work is underway. Local users should expect delays and heavier truck traffic along the Dolores Norwood corridor as the project advances.

The agency says the payoff is a road that can function as an alternate timber haul route for existing timber sales and related work on the Dolores Ranger District, reducing the need to move timber through the town of Dolores. The district manages 597,373 acres of the San Juan National Forest across Dolores, Montezuma and San Miguel counties, which helps explain why a single corridor like Cottonwood Road matters for access, forest management and emergency routing.

The project is being carried out with the National Wild Turkey Federation, and Forest Service history materials say a memorandum of agreement with the Colorado State Historic Preservation Officer addressed mitigation for Cottonwood Road and the Mavreeso Creek Bridge. That history underscores the stakes on both sides of the project: preserving access through the upper Dolores area while changing a road that still carries historic and operational significance.