More than a decade after it was named one of the highest-priority trail projects in the state, ground has not been broken on the Paths to Mesa Verde project. But that time may be growing nearer.
“We’re getting pretty close to getting this project rolling here,” Montezuma County public lands coordinator James Dietrich told the county commissioners on Monday.
Dietrich presented the commissioners with a revised memorandum of agreement between the county, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration.
On Tuesday, at their regular meeting, the commissioners approved the MOA.
The memorandum involves an eight-mile path that will stretch from Boyle Park in the town of Mancos to the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park.
On Jan. 20, 2016, then-Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper named the proposed Paths to Mesa Verde project as one of Colorado the Beautiful’s “16 in 2016” initiative.
Dietrich told the commissioners the project’s cost had increased by about $25,000 from the last time the memo was drafted and he would be seeking more funding to provide the county’s share.
“It seems like every time we go through this, there’s an escalation,” he said.
He said he also hopes to apply for a grant that would provide enough money to allow the trail to have a hard surface instead of a graveled surface, as is currently planned.
The entire pathway is eventually supposed to continue to Cortez, providing an off-highway route where cyclists can ride safely.
The MOA spells out that the responsibility for maintenance of the trail is the county’s. Dietrich said Mancos may be involved, but the county will negotiate that with the town.
Maintenance could be expensive, with snow removal, trash collection, weed management, and upkeep of the trail’s surface all necessary.
