COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Travelers along Interstate 25 between Colorado Springs and Pueblo have wondered why the Pinon Rest Areas have been closed for more than two years, and if — or when — they’ll reopen.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) closed the northbound and southbound rest areas located just north of Pueblo at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March of 2020, because the restroom buildings have no running water.
CDOT said that it has no plans to reopen the rest areas because it would cost millions of dollars to provide running water and treat wastewater there.
The rest stops were built in 2004 at a cost of $4.5 million.
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Michelle Peulen, a CDOT spokeswoman, confirmed Thursday tha the cost of providing running water and wastewater treatment would be between $3 million and $7 million.
She said that the rest areas have had numerous water and wastewater issues since 2012; the southbound stop closed in the fall of 2012 and didn’t reopen until more than a year later, and also closed for nine months in 2017.
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More problems with water and sanitation led to brief closures in 2018, Peulen said, but the stops reopened and remained in operation without water until 2020 — when the pandemic hit.
She said that in 2021 CDOT was unsuccessful in discussions to connect the northbound stop to Fountain city water, and hooking up the southbound stop to Pueblo city water; the cost estimate for both was $16 million.
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Peulen said that CDOT is currently considering whether the rest areas are a necessity, and that there is no timetable for a decision.
She added that the rest areas are only nine miles from Pueblo and 11 miles from Fountain — both with truck stops offering parking, convenience stores and restrooms — and that the Pinion Rest Areas are the only ones managed by CDOT between south Pueblo County and Fort Collins.
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According to CDOT, the Pinion stops were established in the 1960s.
Robert Kulp, a truck driver from Alabama, said he noticed the closed rest areas as he drove along the highway.
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“I’ve seen them closed in other states, too,” he said. “Truck stops are great because they have showers, fuel and other services. But at night, you can’t find a parking place there. That’s when a rest area works better for me; or if I just need to make a quick stop to use the restroom or something.”
Bill Reed grew up in the area around the rest areas and wants to see them in use.
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“People were always using them when I drove through here,” he said. “What if you have kids or pets, and something happens and you don’t want to drive another ten miles to the nearest truck stop? They should be able to figure this problem out somehow.”
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Many drivers previously used the old Midway truck stop just south of the Pinion Rest Areas, but it closed years ago and is now the site of a medical marijuana dispensary.
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