Brief by Allen Best
Terror – March 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
The Summit Daily News thinks that the war on terrorism needs to be better connected at times with common sense. What provokes the newspaper’s grousing is diversion of traffic from across Dillon Dam, a shortcut between the towns of Frisco and Dillon.
Concrete barriers are being installed along the road upon the advice of the federal government, which says the barriers will make it more difficult — although probably not stopping anybody, says the newspaper — for anybody to sabotage the dam. The dam and reservoir are owned by the City of Denver.
In just the first week, 56,000 cars were re-routed, although it’s probably worth pointing out that the alternative route, Interstate 70, parallels the dam road, requiring only a few more minutes of driving. However, permanently lost will be scenic pullouts, including one that provided a history of the dam.
Many other changes across the Colorado mountains have been instituted since Sept. 11, 2001. Almost immediately, restrooms at the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel complex were closed to the public. Dam facilities at Ruedi Reservoir, near Aspen, were similarly closed.
In Steamboat Springs, a new courthouse was relocated to the edge of town, because the existing courthouse site in the downtown area had too little room for all the mandated security areas. At Gypsum, 34 federal transportation security workers were hired, at federal wages, to screen passengers and baggage at Eagle County Regional Airport.
In Glenwood Springs, the public was no longer allowed to freely enter the offices of the White River National Forest, but was instead screened before being allowed through a locked door.