June 14, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ilium Road (CR 63L) will be closed after the Telluride Bluegrass Festival from Tuesday, June 20 through Friday, June 23. During this time, residents of the Two Rivers subdivision will have driveway access and residents between Sunshine Mesa Road and the Sunshine substation will have access from the south (Ames) end of Ilium Rd. Other drivers should expect to take a detour and allow extra time. The road will be open for the weekend and then closed again from June 26 through June 30. Depending on worksite conditions, the closures may be extended into the first week of July.
The construction is part of the Telluride / Mountain Village Reliability Project, which will provide an electric power line loop to connect to existing San Miguel Power Association (SMPA) service lines which currently serve the town of Telluride and parts of Mountain Village. This power line loop will provide more options for restoring power in case of equipment failure or natural damage like that which occurred over last President’s Day weekend when a boulder tumbled into a transmission line, knocking out power for nearly 24 hours. “With the loop feed in place, we’d likely be able to restore power in minutes rather than hours after something like [the President’s Day weekend rock fall.]” says SMPA Engineering Manager, Bill Riley.
In addition to continuing road closures, contract crews will be working behind the Two Rivers Subdivision. The Galloping Goose trail will also likely experience closures, but none have been scheduled before July 4th.
Road and trail users can keep track of project updates on SMPA’s website.
CONTACT:
Alex Shelley, Communications Executive
Office: 970-626-5549 x212
Cell: 970-209-5593
alex@smpa.com