鈥� Weld County is taking the Town of Hudson to court in an attempt to keep construction of a planned truck stop along Interstate 76 from further damaging a heavily traveled county road.
In a complaint filed Monday in Weld District Court, the Board of County Commissioners sued Hudson and Knoxville, Tennessee-based Pilot Travel Centers LLC over the project, whose site plan was approved in March 2024. The truck stop would be built at I-76 and Weld County Road 49, locally known as Weld County Parkway. Pilot鈥檚 contractor also was included in the complaint.
鈥淭his action is not brought to contest that determination or in any way cast aspersions on Pilot Travel Centers LLC鈥檚 right to construct a truck stop at the location,鈥� the county said in its complaint. 鈥淩ather, this action is brought to prevent Pilot Travel Centers LLC, with the Town of Hudson鈥檚 blessing, from, in the rush to complete construction, damaging a Weld County-maintained public highway and in the process causing unnecessary safety risks to the traveling public.鈥�
Weld County and Hudson entered into the 鈥淗udson Stretch IGA,鈥� an intergovernmental agreement in 2016 to facilitate the expansion of WCR 49 inside Hudson鈥檚 town limits into a four-lane highway. When Hudson approved the Pilot site plan, the complaint alleges, the town 鈥渟pecifically refused to require Weld County鈥檚 usual standards for road improvements despite recognizing that Weld County, and not Hudson, is obligated to maintain the road and that Weld County is not to bear any costs for improvements approved by Hudson.鈥�
Although Hudson鈥檚 legal counsel had confirmed to Weld County that construction and right-of-way permits were required for construction that affected WCR 49, the complaint alleges that a Pilot representative on April 30 told the county that Pilot would not work with Weld County or obtain the permit.
鈥淯pon information and belief, staff at Hudson is directing Pilot not to work with Weld County in contradiction to the representations of Hudson鈥檚 counsel to Weld County,鈥� the complaint said.
Weld County alleged that SWI Excavating, Pilot鈥檚 contractor, on April 16 鈥渂egan sawing off the shoulder on the east side of WCR 49,鈥� and by last Friday it had created a trench approximately 17 inches deep in the road.
The county said it believes 鈥淧ilot鈥檚 top priority at this point is to have the grand opening of its truck stop on time and is willing to cut corners to do so.鈥�
Citing 鈥渕ixed signals from Hudson,鈥� the complaint said, 鈥渢here is a live controversy between Weld County and Hudson as to each other鈥檚 mutual obligations pursuant to statute and the Hudson Stretch IGA, and judicial determination of the issue will help resolve how to deal with the current situation as well as future development along the Hudson Stretch of WCR 49.鈥�
The complaint seeks an injunction from the court to keep the town, Pilot and its contractors from 鈥渃onstructing within, damaging, or interfering with traffic control along the Hudson Stretch of WCR 49 without prior approval from Weld County.鈥�
Weld District Judge Kimberly Schutt on Monday granted the county鈥檚 鈥渆mergency鈥� request for a temporary restraining order to stop work that is affecting WCR 49 until she rules on the issue.
The case in Weld District Court is Board of County Commissioners of the County of Weld, State of Colorado v. Town of Hudson, Pilot Travel Centers LLC and SWI Excavating LLC. Case No. 25-cv-30408
