Dry Creek Trail Bridge Dedicated/Wolf Creek Pass Work Finishes Early/CDOT Announces Summer Construction Areas

In southwestern Colorado, construction was completed early on U.S. Highway 160 east of Wolf Creek Pass.

Wolf Creek Pass Project Finishes Ahead of Schedule

The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Kiewit Western Companies completed work in May on U.S. Highway 160 on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass.

Like the last phase of construction near Fun Valley, this current phase was finished ahead of schedule. Completion was originally set for July. This third phase of construction on the pass began June 6, 2005, with work suspended over the winter months.

The $11.3 million project included a one-half-mile stretch of U.S. 160 east of the new tunnel, from the Big Meadows Reservoir access road (mile marker 174.7) east. Crews blasted and removed rock, widening the lanes to 12 ft and the shoulders to 8 ft and upgrading guardrails to meet current federal safety standards.

Unique Pedestrian Canopy Bridge Completed

The new canopy bridge that links three parks via the Big Dry Creek Trail was this spring in a "Passport to Trails" celebration in the southern Denver metro area, featuring an appearance by U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar.

The project included construction of 1,100 ft of a 10-ft-wide concrete path, with a unique bridge crossing of Big Dry Creek. The structure consists of three connected prefabricated bridge sections that together span the 100-year flood plain and create a "canopy walk" through the trees that border the creek.

The project also included re-grading of the creek overbank to create an enhanced riparian zone with significant new tree and shrub plantings.

Construction Started Again This Spring on Wolf Creek Pass

The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Kiewit Western Companies resumed construction in early April on U.S. Highway 160, Wolf Creek Pass.

The work includes a one-half-mile stretch of U.S. 160 east of the new tunnel, from the Big Meadows Reservoir access road east (mile marker 174.7). Crews are blasting and removing rock, widening the lanes to 12 ft and shoulders to 8 ft and upgrading guardrails to meet current federal safety standards.

CDOT's High-Country Highway Construction Season Under Way

More than $36 million worth of Colorado Department of Transportation highway projects are under way or scheduled for the Interstate 70 West Corridor, on Berthoud Pass and State Highway 9 this summer.

This season's schedule of construction projects under way in the high country includes:

• I-70 between Georgetown and Empire Junction - Includes rotomilling and asphalt paving, new guardrail, shoulder work, signing and striping, as well as paving, shoulder work, signing and striping for permanent crossovers. Completion is set for August; cost: $4.1 million.
• I-70 between Empire Junction/Idaho Springs - Includes ramp widening, lengthening of acceleration lanes, installation of ramp metering components and retaining wall construction. Scheduled completion, August; cost: $1.7 million.
• I-70 through and east of the Eisenhower Tunnel - Includes rotomilling, asphalt paving and waterline repairs in both bores of the Eisenhower Tunnel. Scheduled completion, October; cost: $3.8 million.
• I-70 Georgetown Hill - Involves installation of cable netting, fencing and mesh.
• Scheduled to start in October and finish spring 2007; cost: $1.5 million.
• U.S. Highway 40 Berthoud Pass - Involves adding a second uphill lane on the bottom two miles of Berthoud Pass, including shoulder widening, new retaining walls, reconfiguration of the Henderson Mine Road intersection and slope re-vegetation. Scheduled completion, fall; cost, $15.6 million.
• S.H. 9 Breckenridge - Includes new road surface, new bridge over the Blue River, construction of a modified roundabout at S.H. 9, Main Street and North Park Avenue and several intersection upgrades. Scheduled completion, fall 2006; cost: $5.2 million.
• S.H. 9 Hoosier Pass - Involves rotomilling and asphalt resurfacing, culvert replacement, erosion control, seeding and mulching. Scheduled finish in September; cost: $2.5 million.
  

Southeastern Colorado 'Cone Zones' Named

In southeastern Colorado, more than $92 million worth of highway projects are under way or set to begin. This season's construction highlights consist of:

• I-25 at Eagleridge Interchange - Includes new bridge construction, ramps and medians, concrete and asphalt paving, storm sewer improvements, new traffic signals, guardrails, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, lighting, signing and striping. Scheduled completion: July 2007; cost: $12 million.
• I-25 at Porter Draw and Steel Hollow - Involves replacement of both bridges, including road reconstruction, asphalt paving, signing, striping, native seeding and mulching. Scheduled completion: August; cost: $4.2 million.
• I-25 - Eagleridge Interchange to Steel Hollow - Includes rotomilling and asphalt paving, new bridge and guardrail, signing and striping. Scheduled completion: September 2006; cost: $4.9 million.
• I-25 - Huerfano Butte to Huerfano/Pueblo County Line - Includes rotomilling and asphalt paving, bridge work, new bridge and guardrails, seeding, mulching and striping. Scheduled completion: August; cost: $5.7 million.
• I-25 Through Trinidad - Involves reconstructing all elements of northbound I-25 from the Van Buren Connection to north of Commercial Street, including the viaduct, the mainline bridge over the Purgatoire River, the Main Street overpass bridge and the entrance and exit ramps at the Main Street and Commercial Street interchanges. Scheduled to begin in early to mid-fall; expected completion: spring 2009; cost: $35 million.
• U.S. 50 at Hungerford Hollow - Includes bridge replacement, rotomilling and paving, new bridge and guardrail, and striping. Scheduled to begin this month; expected completion: December; cost: $1.3 million.
• U.S. 287 Between Lamar and Springfield - Involves removal of the existing asphalt surface, new concrete surface and upgrading to a "super-two" configuration, including extra-wide shoulders, new bridge decks and approaches, embankment work, new guardrails, seeding, mulching, signing and striping. Also includes three bridge deck rehabilitations. Scheduled to begin in June; expected completion of segment one: December; full completion: July 2007: cost: $18.4 million.
• U.S. 160 East and West of Walsh - Paving from State Highway 100 to the Kansas state line that includes rotomilling and asphalt paving, new bridge and guardrail, embankment work, striping, seeding and mulching. Scheduled to begin this month; expected completion: November; cost: $9.3 million.
• S.H. 12 Whiskey Creek Bridge, North of Stonewall: Bridge Rehabilitation - Includes bridge deck rehabilitation, rotomilling and paving, new guardrail and striping. Scheduled completion: August; cost: $596,000.
• S.H. 69 Rosita Creek Bridge, South of Westcliffe -- Includes replacing the bridge with a concrete box culvert, asphalt paving, new bridge and guardrail and striping. Scheduled completion: August; cost: $987,000.
  

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