Regarding the Closure of I-25 Exit 254
or Johnson's Corner Exit

Those of you who have visited Johnson's Corner would be familiar with I-25 Exit 254 which has directly served the Johnson's Corner area for the last 52 years. This exit has brought thousands of truck drivers and visitors to Johnson's Corner over the years. For those trucking through Northern Colorado, Johnson's Corner has been the only stop for the long haul heading north and south. In fact, many of you make it point to stop at Johnson's Corner as it's become your favorite place to eat a home cooked meal, see a familiar face, enjoy a friendly conversation, take a hot shower and catch some shut eye for the journey ahead.

For more than a year the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has been doing an EIS study on I-25 improvements. One area of focus for this 2-year long study is Exit 254, which is being considered for possible closure. CDOT claims this is an effort to provide greater safety and to relieve congestion in the area.   Because of this, it is a possibility that Exit 254 will be closed for traffic to this area and will be rerouted to the Johnstown and Hwy 402 Exits respectively located north and south of Johnson's Corner.

To anyone outside of CDOT who is familiar with this exit the closure sounds ludicrous and not a good idea at all.  Upon further inspection we've found that CDOT's claims of safety and congestion don't hold water. We've found several valid reasons why Exit 254 should not only remain open and accessible to truckers and visitors alike, but should be considered for transformation into a full interchange.

We - the Town of Johnstown, Larimer County Commissioners, the Colorado and national Motor Carrier Associations, the national truckstop industry, local residents, and visitors - request that the Colorado Department of Transportation remove from considering the closing of Exit 254 along I-25 because of the following adverse impacts such a closure would have on commerce and safety:

1. We recognize the value and importance of Johnson's Corner and other businesses along Exit 254, and that the closure of this exit would jeopardize these businesses as well as pose a safety problem and inconvenience the traveling public along I-25.
2. Johnson's Corner is viewed as an important landmark and stop for travelers, and serves as a meeting place for local residents since it opened over fifty years ago.
3. Johnson's Corner has never closed since opening in 1952. We offer food, shelter and a full-time chaplain 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to facilitate business travelers and tourists.
4. Johnson's Corner is an important economic generator in northern Colorado that employs 120 people with a payroll of nearly $2 million annually.
5. Johnson's Corner is the largest commercial and retail area and the second largest sales tax generator for the Town of Johnstown.
6. In addition to Johnson's Corner, Exit 254 serves fourteen independent businesses, including a motel, RV sales and service and a commercial auto auction which account for over $90M in annual revenue and whose businesses would be in jeopardy if the exit were to close.
7. Johnson's Corner generates over $1 million in highway fuel taxes for the State of Colorado annually.
8. Johnson's Corner and the adjacent businesses to it along Exit 254, contributes millions of dollars in sales tax to the state and is a major source of property taxes for the county annually.
9. Johnson's Corner is a regional gathering point and is consistently used as a meeting place for local, state and federal officials as well as agricultural and irrigation groups, various law enforcement and public safety agencies and a large number of non-profit and business associations.
10. Johnson's Corner has been designated as a staging area for emergency response and has served in such a role in the aftermath of the Big Thompson Flood in 1976 and the most recent fire in Johnstown.
11. Johnson's Corner is the only full service truck stop between Denver, Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming and serves as a destination for many motor carrier operators who have scheduled deliveries in northern Colorado.
12. A recent truck parking study conducted under the auspices of CDOT found that there is a severe shortage of truck parking spaces along I-25 in northern Colorado. The closure of the Johnson's Corner Exit would further exacerbate this problem posing a safety problem for truck drivers and other highway users, particularly at the Johnstown and 402 exits where traffic will have to be rerouted.
13. The new rules for allowable driving hours by truck drivers will require longer rest periods translating into even a greater need for an already lack of truck parking spaces.
14. The northbound and southbound ramps of Exit 254 were solely funded at the inception of I-25 with private funds provided by Joe Johnson, the founder of Johnson's Corner.
15. The 106th Congress recognized Johnson's Corner in April 1999 with the Congressional Record stating that it serves "as a fine example of the best of America's businesses. That exemplifies the industrious spirit and can-do-attitude that have made America great."

If you agree that the closing of Exit 254 along northbound and southbound I-25 in Colorado should be reconsidered because of the adverse impacts of such a closure on the local economy of northern Colorado, the local businesses along Exit 254, and traffic safety and convenience for the traveling public, please sign our petition.