City officials in Rifle, Colorado, will soon finalize their plans for creating an exceptional gateway to the city’s Central Business District. Since March 2008, the city has been developing the Rifle Gateway Plan as part of the city’s comprehensive plan. The project involves creating a distinctive entrance to welcome residents and visitors to the city and the business district, as well as better managing traffic through the downtown areas.

For this project, PBS&J is working with the city and in coordination with the Colorado Department of Transportation Region 3 to develop alternatives and preliminary design for improvements to pedestrian paths, streets, highways, and streetscapes that form the principal gateways to downtown Rifle. The project includes approximately one mile of SH 13 from I-70, I-70 Exit 90 ramps, the six-block core downtown area, and the extension of Park Avenue immediately west of downtown.

The planning process has included numerous stakeholder meetings, an environmental scan of critical resources, traffic analysis of existing and proposed conditions, survey and right-of-way mapping of the project area, geotechnical investigation, conceptual alternatives development, a conceptual design charrette that has engaged stakeholders and the public in a collaborative design development process, and interactive 3D visualization of the design alternatives. Based on objectives and goals developed through the public process, a report will be presented in December for selection of a preferred alternative.