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If the intersection of University/Lincoln & Quebec is part of your daily drive through Highlands Ranch or Lone Tree, please give yourself extra time to navigate upcoming construction.

On Monday, July 17, Douglas County will begin work to improve road quality and safety at the intersection. Construction activities will require reduced speeds and lane closures. Please plan for an additional 3-5 minutes on your drive and watch for crews.

Using traffic count data, engineers designed the project to occur in phases to minimize the impact on the traveling public. The first phase of construction includes establishing the work zone, removing the medians along University Boulevard, Lincoln Avenue, and Quebec Street, and paving the area with asphalt.

Project improvements at the intersection are designed to improve traffic flow and better accommodate bicycles at the intersection, increasing safety and mobility in the area for all road users.

Working hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be no construction work on any Douglas County observed holidays.

Please watch for crews, follow posted speed limits and do not drive distracted in the work zone.

Stay Up to Date

For more information about the upcoming work and to stay up to date on construction impacts, please visit our website.

This project is fully funded by Douglas County. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2024.

About this Project

Douglas County is improving road quality and safety at University/Lincoln and Quebec in Highlands Ranch. A project to rebuild and reconfigure the full intersection will begin in summer 2023. Work includes a new traffic signal system, raised pedestrian safety islands, additional eastbound and westbound lanes on Lincoln Avenue and University Boulevard, and a new right-turn-only lane from southbound Quebec Street to westbound University Boulevard.

Construction on this $13 million project is anticipated to begin in July 2023 and is expected to be complete in fall 2024. Douglas County thanks Douglas County Parks and Recreation, Highlands Ranch HOA and Highlands Ranch Metro District for their partnership in making this project possible.

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Since the pandemic, restaurateur Troy Guard's TAG Hospitality Group has gone through a lot of changes.

In 2021, Guard closed his first restaurant, TAG, which had been a staple in Larimer Square since it debuted in 2009. Later that year, he also shuttered TAG Burger Bar and a concept he'd tested out at Junction Food and Drink, Big Wave Taco. Last December, he sold Grange Hall, the food hall he'd opened in Greenwood Village just over a year earlier, to a strip club operator. And in January, he closed the recently refreshed FNG, his LoHi eatery.

But he also expanded Bubu, his fast-casual concept, as well as Los Chingones, his Latin group. Now he's doubling down on his brunch restaurant, HashTAG, with a second location set to open at 1485 Park Central Drive in Highlands Ranch this fall. The news follows an earlier announcement about plans to open an expansive HashTAG outpost complete with a 4,000-square-foot, year-round rooftop patio at 1125 17th Street in early 2024.

“We are incredibly excited to bring a HashTAG to the vibrant community of Highlands Ranch,” Guard said in announcing the news. “I have given a lot of love to the city of Denver, but I have never opened a restaurant as far south as Highlands Ranch." (Grange Hall was south, but not that south.)

HashTAG's original location debuted in Central Park in 2017; the restaurant is known as a lively brunch spot with a menu that includes chilaquiles, cast-iron cinnamon rolls, a variety of hot cakes, omelets and more.

“We’ve been focusing on the expansion of HashTAG downtown, but when the chance came about to open one in Highlands Ranch, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and we had to jump on it," Guard says. There are plans to add even more HashTAGs in the future, both within and potentially outside of Colorado — he already operates a location of his Denver steakhouse, Guard and Grace, in Houston.

Guard isn't alone in looking to the suburbs for expansion opportunities. In fact, he's right on trend. Local brands such as the Cherry Cricket and Denver Biscuit Company have recently opted to open locations south of town in Littleton and Centennial, respectively, while others, like Blue Pan and King of Wings, are opening outposts in Golden soon.

But Guard is also going big with HashTAG's downtown plans, a move that signals his confidence in the resurgence of business in the area — and for the city's ongoing love of boozy, midday meals.

The cleanup effort in Highlands Ranch is massive: hundreds, if not thousands, of trees fell during a tornado that touched down Thursday, many falling on homes. No one was injured, as far as officials know, but the property damage was extensive.

CBS News Colorado investigator Brian Maass surveyed the damage from that EF1 tornado Friday. "EF1" refers to the tornado's strength and subsequent damage; the next strongest after EF0 out of six storm strength categories.

Douglas County authorities are going street by street, mapping damage and they have issued a disaster declaration. Residents there are reeling from the disaster that ran through their neighborhoods.

RELATED: National Weather Service surveys damage from Highlands Ranch tornado

"You can see how the fence blew down when this tree blew over," said Wayne Humphrey.

Humphrey has lived in the Stoney Point subdivision for decades. A big selling point for him was the tree cover, but much of it is now gone.

"It seems like the ground was just so wet. The root balls were just unable to hold on to anything," he said.

Trees were uprooted and fell on his house. Many other massive trees had blown down around his neighborhood.

Asked how surprised he was about the depth of destruction, Humphrey replied, "it's pretty shocking actually."

RELATED: Tornado downs trees in Highlands Ranch, tree limb drop-off sites open

The nearly 100-mile-per-hour winds were so strong, they took out a brick column next door.

Half a block away, 87-year-old Ron Gerber saw the twister rip concrete shingles off his home.

"It was loud and noisy and I probably shouldn't have been there," Gerber said. "There's a round section that just kind of lifted up and it tore all the shingles away and went some other place."

That place was Maria Sopcich's home, where damage was extensive, but she says that's just property

"We're very grateful we're all healthy, we're all alive. That's the important thing," said Sopcich.

With fences down, rooves and property damaged, insurance agents and tree companies are now out in full force.

Humphrey says his community is pulling together and helping each other out, but they know all those trees, now gone, will impact the look and feel for years to come: "It's gonna change the feel and ambiance of the community."

Brian Maass

Veteran investigative reporter Brian Maass has a reputation for breaking major stories at CBS News Colorado. As part of The Investigators team, he has established a high level of trust and credibility in the community. Read his reports or check out his bio & send him an email.

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“Were you home when the tornado hit? Did you have damage?”

Those are the first questions people in Highlands Ranch are asking each other when meeting up nowadays, a few weeks after the wildest weather event anyone can remember experiencing in the suburb south of Denver.

The next discussion is likely about how to replace what has been destroyed, mostly the trees.

On that humid Thursday afternoon, Douglas County was hit by one of those wild Colorado storms that for tens of thousands of residents in Highlands Ranch is now an indelible life moment. Thankfully, no one was hurt by the technically small (EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale) but destructive tornado on June 22. Very few actually saw the twister cloaked in sheets of rain and hail as it hit Northridge Elementary School and blasted across homes and businesses for more than 6 miles just south of C-470, from Lucent Boulevard to Quebec Street

But some doorbell cameras caught the action, like this one.

The tornado was powerful enough to destroy an estimated 16,000 mature trees along major parkways and residential yards. Douglas County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is still assessing the damage in order to request a national disaster declaration that could provide funding for repairs. Countless homeowners are in the process of filing claims with their insurance companies and finding out what is and isn’t covered.

The soundtrack of summer now includes chainsaws and wood chippers.

Beyond the expense, many are lamenting the loss of so many large trees that created shade, privacy, bird habitats and seasonal beauty. For the community to be transformed in such a striking visual way in a matter of minutes has everyone processing a sense of shock, sadness, and relief that it wasn’t worse.

“We moved here from the Midwest nine years ago and we’ve never experienced a tornado before now,” said Jennifer Smith, who sheltered in her basement with their two daughters and their pets while her husband, Matt, peered cautiously out main floor windows. “The winds were blowing in all directions,” he said. “It felt like you were inside a washing machine.

Luckily, the couple didn’t lose any of their own trees, but said a large aspen across the street was knocked over. They spent July 1 making trips to the Eastridge Recreation Center parking lot to shovel fresh mulch into buckets and cardboard boxes for xeriscaping their yard. Mountains of chipped trees are piled up in several locations around town, including near the post office on Quebec and University. Residents are being encouraged to take as much as they would like.

“We also took one of those large stumps for the garden,” Smith said pointing to a pile of pine trees that had been sliced into sections like large souvenirs, each revealing inner rings numbering more than 30. And the air around Highlands Ranch is perfumed with the pungent smell of pine sap.

Longtime local plant nursery The Gardens has been doing brisk business since the storm. Staffer Kate Kator was at work when the tornado warning blared on the smartphones of everyone inside the store. Some customers rushed to their cars and drove home, while others chose to wait it out with the employees. Kator says within 10 minutes, dark clouds were overhead soon followed by rain and hail blasting in first from west to east, then from east to west.

“One of our gazebos flew up into the trees and portions of the greenhouse and main store roofs were torn off,” she said. “Some of our fencing blew over and the greenhouse flooded.”

A large Scotch Pine just outside their gate blew down, but the next day they were able to prop it back up into place because the rootball was intact. “We’re advising our customers that phosphorous can help trees re-root, and nitrogen will help them grow. A lot of people are coming in asking for replacement trees. We don’t sell large trees, and right now we are just getting in small shrubs that we ordered weeks ago.

“People are buying annuals to replace the flowers they lost, but a lot of people are sad about their shade trees. One customer did say she’s gained a lot of extra space in her yard for the kids to play in now.”

A few years ago, the Colorado State Forest Service came out with recommendations for homeowners along the Front Range who want fast-growing trees.

The blue spruce was listed high up, along with silver maples, white oak varietals and catalpa trees, which are known for their white fragrant flower clusters and heart-shaped leaves. These could become the next generation of popular trees in Highlands Ranch.

“This storm affected more of our evergreen trees than the deciduous varieties,” noted Kator. “Those had broken branches, but the evergreens have more shallow roots and were uprooted by the winds. In Highlands Ranch, we have hard-packed soil once you get past the layer of clay, so it’s hard for roots to go deep.”

Kator said people can plant trees between March and October in Colorado as long as they are well watered for the first couple weeks to get them established. She expects the demand to be extremely high for trees like the flowering crabapples.

Kator noted The Gardens owners Steve and Michelle Smith opened their business in 1997 when Highlands Ranch had many fewer (and smaller) trees. Newcomers don’t know there was a time when the now-mature trees along the greenbelts, parks and subdivisions in the community were just saplings.

Gary Debus served as community manager of Highlands Ranch for 20 years starting in 1991. He recalls the rolling grasslands, where pronghorn and prairie dogs lived. “When Highlands Ranch began in 1981 with the first house, there were very few trees and those that were on the Ranch were native types along with some small native shrubs. Grasslands covered most of the development area.”

Debus said, “Landscape architects developed the parkway plantings and commercial areas that added aesthetics. As new homes were built and sold, homeowners started completing their own landscapes. It was very easy to tell where the newest areas were. Critics dubbed us a ‘sea of rooftops.’ But Highlands Ranch was soon designated a Tree City USA.”

Charla Kelly specializes in helping people buy and sell homes here. She lives close to the community’s original Mansion, which lost numerous large trees in the storm. She said it’s sad, but people have been outside talking with each other more.

“Neighbors have been helping each other,” she said. “People with trucks have been transporting branches to the drop-off sites.”

Kelly hopes those looking to plant new trees in their yards will remember to contact Colorado 811 before doing any digging and potentially hitting buried power lines. It’s the reason no one lost power during the storm, but it’s easy to forget that and start shoveling. Homeowners can go online to request their lines be located and flagged at https://www.colorado811.org/ or just call 811.

Dave and Laura Mutton have lived in their Highlands Ranch home for 21 years. They lost a tree that was planted by the previous owners but had grown to have special meaning for their family. This was the tree where they took annual back-to-school photos of their children from kindergarten through 12th grade. The kids are now out of the nest, and the tree that appears in so many cherished photos is also gone. Their daughter, Julia, was the one who mentioned the photos that feature her and her brother Andrew smiling and hanging on to a limb, even hugging the tree that was like part of their family as they themselves grew each year.

That kind of tree can never be replaced.

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Declaration opens the door for state support; Several sites open for tree debris drop-off

To our Highlands Ranch community – you are not alone. As you clean up after Thursday’s storm, you likely have questions. Please read on for what we know now.

“We’re counting our blessings that there were no reported injuries nor deaths from Thursday’s storm. However, there was significant damage and debris,” said Commissioner Lora Thomas. “We’re working in partnership with the Sheriff’s Office, Highlands Ranch Metro District and the Highlands Ranch Community Association to help everyone affected.”

“The County has issued a disaster declaration to open the door for state support,” said Commissioner Abe Laydon. “In the meantime, we are working with the Highlands Ranch community to provide tree debris drop-off sites.”

Tree Debris Cleanup Douglas County crews are working to clean up tree debris that is causing safety hazards along the sidewalk and in the roadway, starting with the hardest hit area, which is between Highlands Ranch Parkway and C-470 and from Broadway to Colorado.

Crews are also evaluating every street in Highlands Ranch to map damage, which will help inform the crews’ efforts. If you need to report a damaged traffic sign, you can do so online.

For those who have tree debris on their private property, there are two drop off sites available in Highlands Ranch – and more will be planned as needed. You can drop off anything that can be turned into mulch, such as tree branches or brush. Please do not bring fences nor root balls. This service is for Douglas County homeowners, not contractors. Anything larger than a typical trashcan load should go to these sites:

“We want our community to know that our crews are going street-by-street to evaluate the damage and prioritize recovery efforts,” said Commissioner George Teal. “We know cleaning up after this storm will be a shared responsibility among public entities and our individual homeowners.”

“Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the tornado that hit Highlands Ranch yesterday, but our community experienced quite a bit of damage,” said Highlands Ranch Metro District General Manager Stephanie Stanley. “Our staff and our partners are assessing the damage and our crews are coordinating repairs in our parks, along trails, and parkways along major roads. If people see a problem on public property, please report it through the Report a Concern link at www.highlandsranch.org. Updated resources and information are available at highlandsranch.org/stormdamage.”

“The HRCA’s residents are our top priority everyday, especially during a crisis like this. We are working with Douglas County and the Metro District in partnership to provide resources to residents for debris removal and covenant concerns. We are working to keep our website, HRCAonline.org, up to date as the best resource for the latest information,” said Mike Bailey, General Manager of the Highlands Ranch Community Association.

For current information and resources, visit HighlandsRanch.org/StormDamage. Additional updates will be provided as they are known.

For private property post-storm cleanup tips and information, read this information from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.

Please contact homeowners’ insurance for damage on your property. Please only call the Sheriff’s Office if you are experiencing an emergency.

“Our deputies and emergency personnel responded to this disaster with compassion and professionalism,” said Douglas County Undersheriff Dave Walcher. “They worked through the night to direct traffic, provide information, and clear roadways. The recovery phase has begun, and we’re working closely with the county and other agencies to provide support and resources.”

Your County. Your News. Get it first.

Be among the first to receive news as it happens. Subscribe to our online news push, and select your specific news focus and delivery preferences. Visit the Live Town Hall page and register for Town Hall notifications to ensure you are contacted to participate in future community conversations about topics important to you. Both services are free, and you can unsubscribe at any time. And don’t forget to follow Douglas County on Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Sign Up Now!