Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway Is Back in the Spotlight

To Colorado natives, the Million Dollar Highway (US 550) probably makes perfect sense. It’s a no-nonsense mountain highway that was dangerous and difficult to build, and it will always be a little dangerous to drive on. This is part of life in the Centennial State, and part of what it means to cross the mountain passes of the American West.

Transplants, tourists, and even locals are often shocked by the highway’s hairpin turns, sheer drop-offs, wildlife on the road, and sections with no guardrails, and for as long as US 50 remains open, someone will ask why they don’t upgrade this mountain road. Colorado resident Peter Hessler just wrote about this in The New Yorker.

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The Million Dollar Highway Was Built Into Extreme Terrain

Colorado's Million Dollar Highway Is Back in the Spotlight

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CDOT’s historical highway record tells the story of Otto Mears building this road through an exceptionally rugged area, climbing Red Mountain before dropping toward Silverton. That history matters because the highway is still constrained by the terrain it was built through. At the end of the day, the Million Dollar Highway is a high-altitude mountain pass, and when it was built, everyone knew the risks and accepted that they would be handed down from one generation of Coloradans to the next.

The Biggest Hazards Aren't Just Beside the Road

The highway can’t be widened, and CDOT can’t clear the snow if guardrails get in the way. The hazards of driving US 550 from Ouray to Silverton come at drivers from every direction. CDOT’s research has identified 95 avalanche paths intersecting the 33-mile stretch between Ouray and Coal Bank Pass, while rockfall and erosion create additional problems. In 2026 alone, CDOT cleared 8 slides, including mud, rock, and debris from the roadway, while also addressing retaining walls and road stabilization.

Locals Know the Mountain Can Change the Rules

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Visitors may see the Million Dollar Highway as a spectacular scenic drive, but people who live and work around it understand the danger. CDOT uses avalanche-control systems on Red Mountain Pass, and crews routinely close the highway when conditions become too dangerous. A 2025 crash that sent a vehicle down a 320-foot cliff and required a major rescue should remind everyone that the road's beauty and its hazards exist in the same place.