The Estes Park Trail-Gazette reports that bad weather has pushed back the U.S. 34 closure a couple of days. The first full closure of US 34 just east of Estes Park will now take place Wednesday, Feb. 3 through Sunday, Feb. 14, weather permitting.

The closure is necessary to allow the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to replace the first of two bridges on US 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon. Both structures are steel truss bridges that were constructed in 1937 and are in poor condition.

“Due to the snow we received last night, the contractor is unable to complete the preparatory work by Monday as it requires single-lane alternating traffic and the icy conditions create an unsafe situation for motorists and the flaggers,” said CDOT Resident Engineer Scott Ellis. “As a result, the closure will be postponed two days so that the contractor can complete the preparatory work at the bridge under safe conditions.”

Go to the Estes Park Trail-Gazette to see the entire article.

CDOT Press Release

LARIMER COUNTY – The first full closure of US 34 just east of Estes Park will now take place Wednesday, February 3rd through Sunday, February 14th, weather permitting. The closure is necessary to allow the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to replace the first of two bridges on US 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon. Both structures are steel truss bridges that were constructed in 1937 and are in poor condition.

“Due to the snow we received last night, the contractor is unable to complete the preparatory work by Monday as it requires single-lane alternating traffic and the icy conditions create an unsafe situation for motorists and the flaggers,” said CDOT Resident Engineer Scott Ellis. “As a result, the closure will be postponed two days so that the contractor can complete the preparatory work at the bridge under safe conditions.”

During the closure, US 34 will be completely closed at milepost 65.4 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 February 3rd and continuing through February 14th while crews demolish the existing bridge and construct the new bridge. The detour route will add approximately 15 miles (20 minutes) onto a trip from Estes Park to Loveland.

A second closure of US 34 at milepost 66.3 will be required in March to demolish and replace the second structure. This closure is tentatively scheduled for March 1st through March 12th, but is subject to change due to weather or construction activities. The same detour route will be utilized during the second closure of US 34.

“We understand that the full closures are a huge inconvenience, but the only way to replace these aging structures is to completely close the highway,” added Ellis. “We have a fast track method of construction in place that will allow us to complete the majority of work in 12 days so we can reopen US 34 to traffic.”

Following both closures, 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 that are outside of the roadway 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.

RTD FasTracks Press Release

TRAFFIC ALERT

Westbound U.S. 36 will close overnight tonight, Jan. 28, for pedestrian bridge work

Denver, January 28, 2010 – Crews for the Regional Transportation District (RTD) are scheduled to close all westbound lanes of U.S. 36 between Church Ranch and S.H. 121 from 11 p.m. tonight, Jan. 28, through 5:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29.

Closure:

Thursday, Jan. 28 to Friday, Jan. 29

* Starting at 9 p.m., one lane of westbound U.S. 36 will be closed to allow crews to mobilize. At 11 p.m., both westbound lanes will close. All eastbound lanes will remain open during this construction.
* Westbound traffic will be detoured from Church Ranch Boulevard over to Wadsworth Parkway and back to U.S. 36.
* All construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change.

The closure is required to adjust the bearing devices on one of the piers of the pedestrian bridge near Odeum Colorado (formerly the Broomfield Events Center). The final segment of the pedestrian bridge was set on Monday, Jan. 25, as part of the U.S. 36 Phase I Transit Improvements. The other two segments of the pedestrian bridge were placed in mid-December during an overnight closure of eastbound U.S. 36.

U.S. 36 BRT service is proposed to run along the18-mile corridor between Downtown Denver and Boulder. It will serve Denver, Westminster, Broomfield, Superior, Louisville and Boulder.

For more information on the project, visit www.RTD-FasTracks.com.

RTD Press Release

Crews for the Regional Transportation District are scheduled to close all westbound lanes of U.S. 36 between Church Ranch and CO 121 from 10 p.m. tonight, Jan. 25, through 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Closure:

Monday, Jan. 25 to Tuesday, Jan. 26

* Starting at 8 p.m., one lane in each direction will be closed to allow crews to mobilize. At 10 p.m., traffic on the eastbound side will remain open, but westbound lanes will close.
* Westbound traffic will be detoured from Church Ranch Boulevard over to Wadsworth Parkway and back to U.S. 36.
* All construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change.

The closure will allow the final segment of a new pedestrian bridge to be placed across the westbound span of the highway near Odeum Colorado (formerly the Broomfield Events Center), as part of the U.S. 36 Phase I Transit Improvements. The other two segments of the pedestrian bridge were placed in mid-December during an overnight closure of eastbound U.S. 36.

U.S. 36 BRT service is proposed to run along the 18-mile corridor between Downtown Denver and Boulder. It will serve Denver, Westminster, Broomfield, Superior, Louisville, Boulder, Niwot and Longmont.

For more information on the project, visit www.RTD-FasTracks.com.

The upstream bridge on U.S. 34, built in 1937, is the lowest-rated bridge – 6 on a scale of 100 – on CDOT’s list of 124 poor-rated bridges in the state.

The $3.8 million replacement of two unsafe steel truss bridges erected in Big Thompson Canyon during the Great Depression – including the lowest-rated bridge on the state system’s list of 124 poor-rated bridges – will force two 12-day closures of U.S. 34 downriver from Estes Park in February and March.

SEMA Construction is doing the work for the Colorado Department of Transportation. The full closures are schedule for Feb. 1-12 for the bridge upstream closer to Estes Park, and for March 1-12 for the second span nine-tenths of a mile downriver.

The suggested detour between Estes Park and Loveland during the closures is via CO 66 and U.S. 287 through Longmont, nearly 16 miles longer than the trip on U.S. 34. But the canyon environment and adjacent private property made temporary work zone detours prohibitively expensive for such a short time.

Denver Public Works Press Release

Denver Public Works Wastewater Management Division will be installing a storm sewer underneath eastbound 6th Avenue between Hudson Street and Eudora Street. The project will begin at the intersection of eastbound 6th Avenue and Hudson Street and will proceed west on eastbound 6th Avenue to Eudora Street. The work will begin January 18, 2010 and will be finished in late July 2010. The need for this storm sewer installation was identified in the Storm Sewer Master Plan.

BT Construction will be the contractor on the job and will be installing a storm sewer pipe up to 42 inches in diameter.

Due to the expansiveness of this project, a full lane closure of portions of eastbound 6th Avenue will be closed between the hours of 7:30 am and 3:30 pm, with one lane open outside this timeframe. This will be a moving closure meaning that the closure will begin at Hudson Street and move west, ending at the intersection of eastbound 6th Avenue and Eudora Street. Adequate signage will be in place alerting drivers of the project and detour.

The public’s patience and cooperation during construction is greatly appreciated.

The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that U.S. 34 between Drake and Estes Park will be closed for 12 days each in February and March so that SEMA Construction crews can replace two poor-rated steel truss bridges in the Canyon.

Drivers should use CO 66 through Lyons to CO 36 to reach Estes Park during the closures, Feb. 1-12 and March 1-12, said Mindy Crane, Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

Because of the scope of the project — removing and replacing the old bridges — work cannot be done on half the road at a time. Crews will have to close the entire road in both directions, said Crane.

The historic bridges, part of the original highway built in 1937, will be re-used, possibly on trails.

Go to the Loveland Reporter-Herald to see the entire article.