Investing in Our Future by Preserving Our Past
FORT COLLINS – The leading international conference dedicated to identifying, preserving and managing historic roads is coming to Colorado next week.
Preserving the Historic Road (PTHR) conference is taking place at the Elizabeth Hotel in Fort Collins, from Thursday, Sept. 13, through Sunday, Sept. 16. It will feature a number of expert speakers, including several from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). It also includes tours along some of the state’s scenic and historic roads, special events and field sessions. More information on the conference is available here: http://historicroads.org/.
Gov. John Hickenlooper also has proclaimed September as Historic Roads Month in Colorado, coinciding with the PTHR conference. In addition to citing the conference, the proclamation recognizes a number of other sites and locations that enrich the state’s heritage:
- National Register of Historic Places – 61 bridges and 20 roads or highways, including Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park
- Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways – 11 of 26 are designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as America’s Byways, giving Colorado more national designations than any other state
- U.S. National Historic Trails – Three pass through Colorado: Old Spanish National Historic Trail, Pony Express National Historic Trail, and Santa Fe National Historic Trail
In 2017, Colorado attracted 84.7 million U.S.-based travelers, plus nearly one million international visitors who collectively spent $20.9 billion and generated over $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue. In addition, for every one million dollars spent on historic preservation in Colorado, it leads to more than $1 million in additional spending, 14 new jobs, and increases household incomes by $636,700 across the state.