The Durango Herald reports that a court ruling will make it easier for the Colorado Department of Transportation to connect U.S. 550 to a lonely overpass in Grandview dubbed “the Bridge to Nowhere” when it was built without locking down all the real estate to connect to it.

Judge Jeffrey R. Wilson shot down Webb Ranch property-owner Chris Webb’s allegations of bad faith and fraud in a 12-page order filed in District Court on Jan. 29. Wilson said the allegations didn’t fit because Webb’s former attorney should have known CDOT planned to build across Webb’s land. Webb has said he thought he agreed only to allow CDOT to expand the existing highway abutting his land, and that he didn’t agree to let the department reroute a highway directly through his 500-acre ranch.

The ruling marks a clear victory for CDOT, which has taken heat from residents for building a highly visible $6 million traffic feature across one of the area’s busier roads before acquiring all the necessary rights of way.

Lakewood Edge reports that FasTracks construction will limit the use of the center lanes along a stretch of West 6th Avenue for about 10 days next month while crews relocate a signboard, the Denver Transit Construction Group announced Thursday.

Work crews will close the east- and west-bound center lanes of the heavily traveled highway between the Simms/Union exit Indiana Street beginning April 11 to move the Colorado Department of Transportation sign. The sign is in the middle of the highway near the area of the entrance road to Red Rocks College.

The Durango Herald reports that a year-long $9 million highway project partially funded by the president’s stimulus package is now underway on U.S. 160, and drivers who use the road should get ready for possible 10-minute waits.

This week, the Colorado Department of Transportation is relocating utilities and clearing material from the sides of U.S. Highway 160 from mileposts 92.9 to 94.8, just east of the Florida River, so crews with Four Corners Materials of Cortez can move the county roads 222/223 intersection one mile to the east.

The Summit County Citizens Voice reports that Summit Stage and its union drivers are in conflict over an upcoming shift in scheduling practice aimed at cutting costs but which drivers say will cause them economic hardship.

The drivers face a switch from a four-day to a five-day work week, and say the change will inflict hardships, including added commute time, less time with family, and, in some cases, forcing drivers to give up part-time second jobs they depend on to pay their mortgage.

Depending on exact schedule assignments set to take effect next month, some drivers may work 12-hour shifts on some days, and only five hours on their fifth day of work

The Infrastructurist blog takes on the question of when the long-term transportation bill will come up. Federal transportation funding got a much-needed reprieve last week when President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which will ensure sufficient federal highway and transit funding for the near future.

All of which is a huge relief to just about everyone involved in the construction and transportation biz. But there’s still a large piece missing: We’re still in dire need of a long-term transportation bill that defines this administration’s goals and priorities for the future of U.S. transportation.

So what are our chances of getting one passed during this session of Congress? Not good. Not good at all.

CDOT Media Release

Repairs begin at Glenwood Canyon Rockfall Site Today

Contract set with an early completion incentive designed to expedite work

GLENWOOD CANYON – The Colorado Department of Transportation begins repairs today (March 22) on damage caused by the rockfall incident on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon on March 8. Flatiron Construction Corporation of Longmont will be making the repairs. The cost of the repair project is approximately $860,000. However, the total cost of the rockfall event—including CDOT maintenance and design work—is expected to be much higher (that figure will be reported at a later date).

The Denver Post reports that a Denver task force studying the Colfax Avenue streetcar proposal has determined a dual-track segment between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard, costing about $105 million, could be a “viable” first phase of the project.

The East Colfax corridor already has some of the strongest transit ridership in the country — anchored by RTD’s 15 and 15L bus routes — and that high transit volume might make a Colfax streetcar a good candidate for winning federal money, the study said.

The Denver Post reports that RTD ticketed a record number of light rail fare evaders last year as the result of a crackdown.

The transit agency’s enforcement officers issued violation notices to 7,178 people, up from 5,074 in 2008. In 2007, 3,174 citations were issued. A large number of those ticketed ignored the citations — and their attached court dates — which can result in a criminal conviction for theft and a night in jail, Denver court administrators say.

Of the total, 6,049 citations were issued in Denver County.

The Denver Business Journal reports that Edward Kraemer and Sons was the apparent low bidder at Thursday’s bid opening for the reconstruction of the C-470 and Santa Fe Drive interchange.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is using the last of its federal stimulus money on the project, estimated to cost a total of $25.7 million. Kraemer’s bid of $17.2 million was about five percent less than the $18.2 million engineer’s estimate for the construction work.

Regional Transportation District (RTD) Board members and the RTD General Manager met yesterday with White House officials to discuss the FasTracks program, including a presentation on FasTracks that focused on economic benefits and sustainability improvements.

RTD Chairman Lee Kemp, 2nd Vice Chair Noel Busck and RTD General Manager Phil Washington met Wednesday at the White House with Adolfo Carrión, President Obama’s Director of Urban Affairs for the White House Office of Urban Policy. The discussion centered on the economic benefits, mobility improvements and sustainability enhancements afforded by the FasTracks program.