CDOT Media Release

Second full closure of US 34 scheduled to begin this week

LARIMER COUNTY – The second full closure of US 34 just east of Estes Park is now scheduled to take place Thursday, March 4th, through Monday, March 15th, weather permitting. The closure is necessary to allow the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to replace the last steel truss bridge on US 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon. The two steel truss bridges being replaced as part of this project were originally constructed in 1937 and are in poor condition.

“A great deal of work takes place early in the closure so it is essential that we have dry weather and fairly warm temperatures the first three days,” said CDOT Resident Engineer Scott Ellis. “If inclement weather will impact girder delivery, bridge demolition or bridge deck construction, the closure will be postponed until at least a three-day window of good weather is forecasted.”

During the closure, US 34 will be completely closed at milepost 66.3 and motorists will be detoured through Lyons along US 287, State Highway 66 and US 36. The closure will be in place 24 hours a day starting at 12:01 a.m. on March 4th and continuing through March 15th while crews demolish the existing bridge and construct the new bridge. The detour route will add approximately 15 miles onto a trip from Estes Park to Loveland.

Following the second closure, crews will have some minor work to complete. Between the middle of March and the middle of May, crews will install the remaining drainage structures and pave the roadway in asphalt. The paving cannot take place until warmer temperatures return. Other minor work includes staining the concrete on the new bridges and installing the guardrail. During the last two months of construction, motorists can expect single-lane alternating traffic during daytime hours, Monday through Friday.

For more information about the project, visit http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/us-34-truss-bridges or call 970-685-0229. For frequently asked questions, visit the project Web site.

SEMA Construction, Inc. is the contractor for this $3.8 million project scheduled to be complete by Memorial Day 2010.