— 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’s contractor also was included in the complaint.
“This action is not brought to contest that determination or in any way cast aspersions on Pilot Travel Centers LLC’s right to construct a truck stop at the location,” the county said in its complaint. “Rather, this action is brought to prevent Pilot Travel Centers LLC, with the Town of Hudson’s 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.”
Weld County and Hudson entered into the “Hudson Stretch IGA,” an intergovernmental agreement in 2016 to facilitate the expansion of WCR 49 inside Hudson’s town limits into a four-lane highway. When Hudson approved the Pilot site plan, the complaint alleges, the town “specifically refused to require Weld County’s 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.”
Although Hudson’s 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.
“Upon information and belief, staff at Hudson is directing Pilot not to work with Weld County in contradiction to the representations of Hudson’s counsel to Weld County,” the complaint said.
Weld County alleged that SWI Excavating, Pilot’s contractor, on April 16 “began sawing off the shoulder on the east side of WCR 49,” and by last Friday it had created a trench approximately 17 inches deep in the road.
The county said it believes “Pilot’s 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.”
Citing “mixed signals from Hudson,” the complaint said, “there is a live controversy between Weld County and Hudson as to each other’s 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.”
The complaint seeks an injunction from the court to keep the town, Pilot and its contractors from “constructing within, damaging, or interfering with traffic control along the Hudson Stretch of WCR 49 without prior approval from Weld County.”
Weld District Judge Kimberly Schutt on Monday granted the county’s “emergency” 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
