Old U.S. 6 in Rifle, now a paved access road, hugs the railroad tracks heading west out of town. Post-war motels once hungry for business are flush with neon “no vacancy” signs.
Restaurants, construction companies, snowmobile dealerships, 24-hour fuel stops, truck rental centers, and a sprawling EnCana Energy gas-collection station populate the outskirts of the valley community. And land has been earmarked for a new extended-stay motel.
Just before it ducks under Interstate 70, a dirt road pokes off old U.S. 6 to the north, tying into a network of other heavily traveled dirt roads that take you past the first of many large multidirectional drill rigs.
“Uphill traffic has priority,” the signs warn on the steep, curving roads that lead into the Roan Plateau. That means folks going to work have the right of way to those coming off.
This is a lean industry, and it can’t afford to slow down.
Responding to relaxed drilling rules on federal lands, the Bush administration and favorable market forces, energy companies are transforming Western Slope communities from Glenwood Springs to Grand Junction, Durango to Meeker, into boomtowns, bringing thousands of jobs, tremendous development, and steady commerce.
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