David Gordon, manager of the Ft. Collins/Loveland Municipal Airport, has been named Colorado Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division Director. His appointment is effective April 9. Gordon has worked in the aviation sector for the past 35 years. He served for 24 years as manager of the Jefferson County Airport in Broomfield, and since 2002 he has been manager at the Loveland/Ft. Collins airport.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that voters in that city and county approved by a wide margin a half-cent increase to the transit sales tax to restore lost bus and Call-A-Ride service and, eventually, expand the reach of mass transit farther into the St. Louis suburbs.

Metro transit officials had warned that the agency would have to dramatically scale back bus and Call-A-Ride service. MetroLink trains would likely have run less often, too, putting jobs and classrooms out of reach to thousands who depend on public transportation.

Instead, Baer said, the agency’s work begins today on restoring bus routes, possibly as soon as June. Bus drivers will have to be hired and certified. Metro will take its restoration plan to its governing board later this month and will then hold public hearings.

CDOT Media Release

Traffic Switch in Glenwood Canyon: Westbound traffic switched over to eastbound lane through rockfall work zone

March 30, 2010 – Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 – The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Flatiron Construction Corporation will switch traffic March 31, starting around 7 AM.

GLENWOOD CANYON – The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Flatiron Construction Corporation will switch traffic tomorrow, starting around 7 AM. Westbound traffic will be switched onto the inside eastbound lane through the work zone, separated from the single lane of eastbound traffic by a concrete barrier. Putting both directions of traffic onto the eastbound lanes will enable the contractor to complete repairs on the concrete retaining wall and the westbound bridge deck. While in this configuration, the speed limit for eastbound traffic will remain at the lowered 40 mph; the speed for westbound traffic will be lowered to 25 mph, however, due to the lane switches in this short section-which is approximately 1,000 feet. The width restriction remains at 14 feet.

REPAIR WORK: The repair work is taking place between mile markers 124 and 125, just west of Hanging Lake Tunnel. The work will involve bridge deck and bridge wall/rail repairs (including 150 feet of new steel bridge rail); guardrail repairs (about 120 linear feet) to hillside concrete barrier; median concrete barrier repair (replacement of 400 linear feet); removal and replacement of 690 square feet of concrete retaining walls; straightening of steel bridge girders using a flame straightening process; some lighting and electrical repairs; and repairs to the bike trail below. Finally, the contractor will use approximately 500 tons of base course material on the roadway, as well as 400 tons of patching asphalt to repair the driving surface.

REGULAR TRAFFIC IMPACTS: Work will be done during the day, Monday through Saturday. There will be a single lane of traffic open in each direction, but motorists may encounter occasional traffic stops, when safety or equipment mobilization warrant. The speed limit is reduced from 50 to 40 mph; delays should be very minimal. Motorists are urged to obey the reduced speed limit and maintain a safe following distance while driving through the work zone. There is a 14-foot width restriction. While the Glenwood Canyon bike path should open sometime in April, the section between the Shoshone power plant and Hanging Lake rest area will remain closed for safety until the project is completed in May. Thank you for going ” Slow for the Cone Zone !”

ROCKFALL INCIDENT INFORMATION: Just after midnight, on March 8, a large rockslide hit I-70 in Glenwood Canyon near mile marker 125, just west of Hanging Lake Tunnel. I-70 was closed in both directions to all traffic between Glenwood Springs (mm 116) and Dotsero (mm 133). The interstate reopened to a single lane of traffic in each direction on the afternoon of Thursday, March 11.

The rockfall brought 20 boulders onto the interstate, ranging in size from 3 feet to10 feet in diameter. The largest weighed about 66 tons. The rocks made holes in the elevated sections of roadway-the largest being in the westbound lanes (closest to the hillside) and measuring 20 feet by 10 feet. Another hole in the lower eastbound lanes measured 6 feet by 6 feet. There were a half a dozen other holes and “dips” in the roadway, as well as areas where rocks were embedded. Most of these repair areas were approximately 5 feet by 5 feet. Rocks were scattered over 100 yards of roadway. Also damaged were three sections of steel guard rail and median barrier.
For information about other CDOT projects, the public may log on to www.coloradodot.info or call 511. To receive information directly, log on to this web site and click the icon in upper right corner entitled “Sign up for Email and Wireless Alerts.”

CDOT Media Release

CDOT to Study Effects of Speed Limit Reduction on US 36

March 29, 2010 – Northeastern Colorado/CDOT Region 4 – BOULDER COUNTY- Today, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) installed new speed limit signs reducing the speed limit from 65 MPH to 60 MPH along approximately 1.5 miles of eastbound and westbound US 36 between approximately Baseline Road and Foothills Parkway.

CDOT is reducing the speed limit for a three-year period to study the effects of the speed limit reduction on driver behavior and accidents.

This stretch of US 36 currently carries 72,100 vehicles a day and has experienced a significant increase in traffic volumes over the last couple of years. In addition, there has been a nine percent increase in median barrier collisions over a ten-year period.

“Crash rates on this portion of US 36 are not any different than other portions of US 36 or even similar types of highways, but we have seen an increase in median barrier collisions, which could be speed-related,” said CDOT Traffic Engineer Ina Zisman. “By lowering the speed limit for a three-year period, we can study the stretch and determine if speed is a factor and if the new speed limit has helped reduce median barrier collisions.”

The decision to lower the speed limit followed two speed studies in 2009 conducted by CDOT and the City of Boulder. Both studies indicated an increase in median barrier collisions and as a result, both agencies decided to temporarily decrease the speed limit to study the impacts. The Boulder Police Department will be enforcing the new speed limit along this 1.5-mile stretch of US 36.

Once the three-year study period is complete, CDOT will analyze traffic and accident data to determine if the speed limit will remain at 60 MPH or if a change is needed.

CDOT Media Advisory

4th Street Bridge Trail closure begins this week

March 29, 2010 – ADVISORY – Southeastern Colorado/CDOT Region 2 – PUEBLO – The Colorado Department of Transportation is closing the Arkansas River Trail, under the 4th Street Bridge (State Highway 96), beginning on Thursday, April 1.

Safety considerations will not allow the path to remain open as demolition work begins on the old bridge structure.

The trail will be closed around-the-clock, including weekends. A signed detour will be place while the trail is closed. It is scheduled to reopen on June 1, 2010.

The Broomfield Enterprise reports that officials from Broomfield and the Colorado Department of Transportation will meet Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Transportation to discuss getting more money for the $1.2 billion expansion of the highway.

The project will widen U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder, rebuild the Wadsworth interchange, add carpool and toll lanes and bus stops and build a bike trail near the highway. The massive price tag means it will have to be built in phases.

Federal officials will be in the Denver area this week to review plans for the highway corridor and discuss ways of “leveraging” the $10 million federal stimulus grant the project received in February, Broomfield transportation manager Debra Baskett said.

The meeting is a follow-up on CDOT`s request for $300 million from the federal government`s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant program.

The Colorado Independent reports that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority estimates high-speed passenger rail service on dedicated tracks along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors will cost $22 billion and likely require up to 50-percent funding by Colorado taxpayers,.

Harry Dale, the authority’s chairman, Harry Dale, said the higher cost of building dedicated lines rather than using existing freight lines or right-of-ways makes long-term financial sense. The assessment in part of a $1.5 million feasibility study funded mostly by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

High-speed trains traveling in excess of 100 mph would command premium fares allowing for a model of $2 in fare revenue for every $1 of operational costs. That means a private company could operate a Colorado franchise at a profit, eliminating the need for annual operational subsidies, the study says.

The Denver Business Journal reports that the Colorado Legislature’s one attempt to roll back late fees established by the “FASTER” transportation-funding bill is on the brink of dying in a dispute over exactly how many trailer owners should get those breaks.

House members voted Friday to reject the Senate’s attempt to limit the fines paid by owners of trailers of any size who turn in their vehicle-registration fees late. The Senate is now in the position of acceding to the House’s more limited fee-break proposal or killing the bill altogether, likely finishing the session without any substantial changes to one of the biggest bills of 2009.

AASHTO Media Release

Iowa DOT Director Testifies on State Successes in Implementing the Recovery Act

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – States have achieved tremendous success putting to work tens of billions of dollars worth of economic recovery projects in the past year and stand ready to proceed with $80 billion in additional infrastructure investment if Congress provides the money in a job-creation bill this year, the Iowa Department of Transportation’s director told a House panel today.

The Summit County Citizens Voice reports that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority is close to releasing a final version of its feasibility study for high-speed rail, which would run north-south along the Interstate 25 corridor between Fort Collins and Pueblo, and east-west along Interstate 70 between Eagle and Denver International Airport.

“There are a whole slew of alternatives that are feasible,” said Harry Dale, Clear Creek County commissioner and chairman of the authority.