CDOT Press Release

The Colorado Department of Transportation will switch traffic onto the new northbound lanes of Interstate 25 through Trinidad next week.

On Monday at 6:30 a.m., CDOT will open northbound I-25 to traffic from Main Street to Goddard Avenue. All southbound traffic will continue to use one lane of the southbound viaduct through Trinidad. This traffic pattern continues until 6:30 p.m. Monday, and also be in place on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night, from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., traffic will detour, as follows:

– Northbound: Exit and back onto I-25 via off-ramps and on-ramps at Main Street (Exit 13) and Commercial Street (Exit 14)

– Southbound: Exit at Goddard Avenue (Exit 15), east on Kit Carson Trail (U.S. 160), south on Main Street to I-25

At 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, all traffic will move to the northbound viaduct – one lane northbound and one lane southbound – allowing work to begin on southbound I-25, beginning with the demolition of the old viaduct.

The southbound reconstruction, from Goddard Avenue to Van Buren Street, will be similar to the work on the northbound segment. It includes construction of a new viaduct and mainline bridges over Main Street and the Purgatoire River, and new entrance and exit ramps at the Main Street and Commercial Street interchanges. It also involves excavation work, asphalt paving, new guardrails, lighting, other utility improvements, landscaping, signing and striping.

Additional construction information is available by visiting the project Web Site at www.i25trinidad.com or by calling the contractor, Lawrence Construction, at 719-846-4961.

The southbound segment of the $81.2 million project is scheduled for completion by July 2011.

A small portion of the project, $7 million, is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It includes construction of the Purgatoire River Pedestrian Trail, new street lights, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, drainage inlets and landscaping.