The Billy Creek Wildlife Fence Still Has Gaps This October

The underpass beneath US 550 at Billy Creek is almost two years old. The fence that is supposed to guide deer and elk into it is still unfinished. In November 2025, CDOT told its own Transportation Commission that holes in that fence let deer and elk into the highway right-of-way, and it called this "a significant issue in this area." The repair is a separate project. As of February 2026 it was still in design. So the drive between Colona and Ridgway this fall runs through a wildlife corridor that is only partly built, in the middle of the months when animals are moving.

What the 2024 project actually built

CDOT and contractor FNF Construction finished the US 550 Paco - Billy Wildlife and Safety Improvements project on Nov. 18, 2024, about five miles north of Ridgway. It was the last of three US 550 projects between Montrose and Ridgway in two years. CDOT says more than $40 million has gone into the corridor since spring 2022. That bought over 22 miles of new pavement next to roughly seven miles of wildlife fencing.

Here are the pieces that matter at migration time:

1. The underpass. It sits at milepost 114.4 at Billy Creek. CDOT picked the spot because it is a big game migration route identified in the 2019 Western Slope Wildlife Prioritization Study.
2. The fence. It is 8 feet tall and built to steer animals toward the underpass. CDOT added about three miles of new wildlife features and tied them into older ones to make a seven-mile corridor inside a construction zone that ran from milepost 109 to 117.
3. The jump-outs. These are one-way earthen ramps. An animal that ends up on the highway side of the fence can climb out, but it can't climb back in.

CDOT's case for spending the money came from its own crash records. Between mileposts 109 and 119, half of all crashes in the previous ten years involved wildlife. At the 2024 completion, CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said, "It is common to see large herds of elk and mule deer along this route, especially during migration season."

Why the underpass came first

The underpass and the shoulders were split up on purpose. The Ouray County Plaindealer reported in August 2025 that the underpass job cost $7 million and took about nine months. CDOT Regional Transportation Director Julie Constan told the paper that shoulder work was left out because of funding limits. CDOT put wildlife collisions first because they are the most common cause of crashes in the area.

The leftover work became Project 1133, "US 550 Shoulder Improvements, Wildlife Fencing and Underpass Between Uncompahgre River and Colona." CDOT's November 2025 summary lists four jobs. It would widen three miles of shoulders, close the gaps in the existing fence, put deer guards at access points, and improve the entrance to Ridgway State Park. Deer guards matter because every driveway or road that cuts through a fence line is a place where animals can walk through.

The funding is split. The February 2026 fact sheet shows $10.53 million requested from the FY 2019–26 strategic fund and $20.399 million from FY 2027–30. Two-thirds of the money sits in the later window. That fits a construction date years out, not months.

The underpass has no scorecard yet

In the Plaindealer story, CDOT spokesperson Lisa Schwantes said wildlife mitigation features consistently cut wildlife crashes by 85% to 95%. She was talking about these features in general. In the same story, CDOT said it was still collecting data on the Billy Creek underpass to measure its effect. We have not found any published camera counts or before-and-after crash figures for Billy Creek since then.

The crash data the Plaindealer mapped shows where the problems were before the fence was finished. From 2021 through 2024 in Ouray County, single-vehicle wildlife crashes were the most common type. Crashes clustered at milepost 105 and at mileposts 112 through 115, right around Billy Creek. Milepost 105, between Terrace and Riversage drives north of Ridgway, was the biggest hotspot in that period. Constan told the paper CDOT had no safety plans there yet but had flagged it for possible improvements. Milepost 105 is south of both the finished fence and Project 1133's limits.

The paper also reported that vehicles had broken through the wildlife fence near Billy Creek. So the fence itself needs repair as well as completion.

The calendar for this stretch, October through New Year's

Today is Oct. 12, and the next few weeks are the busy part of the year on this road. The Colorado State Patrol's October 2025 advisory named US 550 from Montrose to Ouray as a high-risk wildlife corridor. It said October, November and December are the state's most active months for wildlife crashes, and that risk is highest from dusk to dawn. A Colorado Parks and Wildlife guide for the Southwest Region says mule deer usually reach winter range by late October even without snow. Elk start moving down in earnest once a foot or more of snow falls. The Montrose Daily Press has described Billy Creek State Wildlife Area as important winter range for deer and elk. That means the animals are moving toward the same land the highway runs along.

Here is how the season lines up:

• Oct. 14–18: First of CPW's four 2026 rifle-season blocks that run alongside regular rifle deer and elk seasons.
• Late October: Mule deer typically reach winter range.
• Oct. 24–Nov. 1: Second rifle block.
• Nov. 1: Clocks fall back, and the evening drive home from Montrose moves into darkness.
• Nov. 7–15 and Nov. 18–22: Third and fourth rifle blocks.
• Jan. 1 through April 30: Billy Creek State Wildlife Area closes to general public access. Hunting, fishing and trapping are still allowed along the Uncompahgre River corridor, from US 550 to 100 feet east of the river.

Under CPW's May 2026 rules, licensed hunters can camp on Billy Creek during established big-game seasons and for three days on either side. The rules also allow launching and taking out non-motorized boats. In practice, the pullouts along this stretch get more use during rifle weeks, at the same time animals are crossing toward the river bottom.

The speed study still has no public answer

There is one more open question. Ouray County Commissioner Michelle Nauer first went to CDOT in 2023. Early in 2025 the county signed an agreement with CDOT for a speed study between mileposts 103 and 119, including the Billy Creek area. The Plaindealer reported that Nauer hoped the study would support a lower speed limit and removing the passing lane until wider shoulders are built.

CDOT said the study could lead to several kinds of changes: a radar speed sign within a couple of months, new signs or shoulders within about a year, or a different speed limit. Constan also said limit changes are rare and usually move 5 mph in either direction. The Telluride Daily Planet quoted CDOT saying a report would be ready "by the end of October" for county officials. We have not found a published conclusion, a speed limit change, or any new signage that came out of it. Until one appears, the limits and the passing lane near Billy Creek are as posted.

Project 1133's elements also include adding or expanding passing lanes. It does not list removing one. If the speed study recommends otherwise, the two would have to be reconciled before construction.

What 2028 means for the Montrose commute

If the Plaindealer's 2028 date holds, the corridor will get one more full construction season before it's complete. The paper reported that the shoulder project will cause delays on the drive to and from Montrose. After the 2024 work, CDOT said it had no projects planned on this corridor for 2025. The fence gaps CDOT described in November 2025 are still on its to-do list. This fall's migration and the next two after it will cross a highway with an underpass in place and fence work left to do.

If you own land along this corridor near Colona and want to talk through how driveway access, fencing, or the coming shoulder work might affect a property, Peggy Lindsey and our team watch this stretch of 550 as closely as you do. Give us a call.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.