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Moffat tunnel6/11/2023 ![]() In the summer this area gets pretty busy and congested. Forest Service Lands and the Indian Peaks Wilderness. All of which offer beautiful views of U.S. From there you can park and begin hiking at Hessie Trailhead or continue onto Fourth of July Road to reach many other trailheads, such as Lost Lake, King Lake, Woodland Lake or the Diamond Lake trails. From town, head south on Hwy 119/CO-72 and then turn right onto Eldora Road, take a slight left onto Eldorado Avenue and then continue straight onto Hessie Road. Hessie Trailhead, a popular destination right outside of Nederland, offers several different hikes. Nederland is home to an endless amount of great hiking trails-many that end at crystal-clear, cold and beautiful mountain lakes. Try New Moon Bakery, Salto Coffee Works, or one of the others that you can find in town and grab a pastry or breakfast sandwich and enjoy sitting at their patios in the morning sunshine. Pick up coffee and breakfast at one of the town’s many coffee shops. Sunset over Nederland from Barker dam just outside of town. If you happen to be visiting during the fall, you’ll get to see a spectacular display of fall foliage in the mountains. It’s about 41 miles to Nederland and takes around an hour, but you will not be disappointed. On your way down to Nederland, take the Peak-to-Peak Scenic byway for stunning views.įrom Estes Park, take Hwy 7 and then a right on Hwy 72 to Nederland. However, today Ned is known as a quirky town with plenty to do-the perfect place for a day trip from Rocky Mountain National Park. Nicknamed “Ned.” The town has a long and rich history as a mining settlement since its beginnings in the 1800s. The remaining assets of the commission were transferred to the state and the commission ceased to exist in early 1998.Forty miles south of Estes Park along the Peak to Peak scenic byway, sits the small mountain town of Nederland, Colo. Moreover, it had a lease lasting until 2025 that had little monetary value to the owner of the tunnel. The railroad had the right of first refusal and to match any offer. In January 1998, the newly seated commissioners sold the water tunnel to the Denver Water Board for $7 million and put the railroad tunnel up for sale. However, the motion ultimately failed to pass, perhaps because the commissioners feared being sued over the action. Before this process was set in motion, the existing commissioners defiantly threatened to vote the commission out of existence at their final meeting before the new commission would be seated. The bill specified that new commissioners would be named by the Governor (Roy Romer) to handle the liquidation of the commission and the transfer of assets to the state. Eventually, the resort agreed to purchase the land for $2 million (in 1996).īecause of these challenges, the railroad and the ski area join forces in 1996 to push forward a bill in the state legislature to dissolve the commission. By 1994, the commission was demanding rents and threatened to evict the ski resort and build a "Taco Bell". The commission began to agitate to recover money from Winter Park Resort to pay for land leased from the commission, known as the Evans Tract. In 19 the commission delayed a lease to the Southern Pacific Railroad for using the railroad tunnel for fiber optic cables. In 1990, a group of activist commissioners were elected who proceeded to use the resources at their disposal to sue the Winter Park Resort, the Colorado Arlberg Club and the City and County of Denver in order to represent the public interest against perceived abuses by powerful private interests. The following is an excerpt from Wikipedia: Until the District is formally dissolved, the line item on homeowners property tax bills for this District will remain showing a "0.000" mill levy due to this District. ![]() However, the district continued to collect taxes for another year, resulting in a fund of excess cash of approximately $1 million. ![]() ![]() The bonds for the tunnel were retired in December 1983. The District was originally governed by a five-member elected commission and existed from 1922 until 1998. The district had the authority to sell bonds backed by real estate taxes in the counties served by the Denver and Salt Lake Railway, which was the original railroad tenant of the tunnel. The Moffat Tunnel Improvement District was an independent entity of the State of Colorado created to build and manage the Moffat Tunnel, a railroad and water tunnel under James Peak and Rollins Pass. ![]()
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