Colorado highway named for CDOT worker killed while filling potholes

A stretch of U.S. Highway 84 south of Pagosa Springs has been renamed to honor the life of a Colorado Department of Transportation worker who was fatally struck by a vehicle while filling potholes back in February.

Nolan Olson was a member of the Pagosa Springs maintenance patrol and was working on Highway 160 in southwest Colorado when he was hit by a vehicle. He later died from his injuries.

Thursday, two new memorial signs were unveiled, dedicating the section of Highway 84 as the “Nolan Olson Memorial Highway.”

Rep. Barbara McLachlan, who introduced the bill to rename the highway and attended the ceremony Thursday, said Olson was a “hardworking Coloradan who strived to make our state a better place to live.”

Likewise, CDOT executive director Michael Lewis said Olson would’ve wanted the crash to serve as a lesson.

“He was the type of person who would not have wanted his loss to have gone without shining a spotlight on the risks that our crews take every day when they go out on the roads to serve the public,” Lewis said.

CDOT says Olson’s death is a prime example of why it’s important to slow down and give undivided attention while driving through work zones.