Sidewalk plaque at 17th and Stout streets, the heart of downtown Denver. commemorates the 58-year-old all-walk phase known as the Barnes Dance. Inside Lane photo.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

Save the last dance for me!

Denver, the city that popularized the pedestrian-friendly all-walk diagonal-crossing Barnes Dance, is considering phasing it out of the busy downtown grid as part of a larger evaluation of signal timing within the central business district.

Another Denver institution on the ropes? Could they leave the Barnes Dance, the cheeseburger and the ice cream soda in their native town and instead eliminate the Denver Boot?

“We have preliminary data from our consultant and we’re talking to stakeholders,” said Matt Wager, director of operations for traffic engineering services at Denver Public Works. “It’s a complex discussion.”

Pedestrians would still get “Walk” signals, but not the all-red diagonal crossing.

Wager said a decision is likely six months out. The “All Pedestrian Phase Study” is being done by Jacobs Engineering, while a larger retiming study of the downtown signal system, called the Downtown Denver Traffic Signal Retiming Study, is being done by Navjoy Consulting Services.
“We are taking a look at signal timing downtown and are evaluating not only pedestrians but bicycles, autos and transit,” Wager said. “We’re always evaluating signal timing downtown.”

In part, the retiming study is a response to RTD’s anticipated introduction of four-car light rail trains along Stout and California streets. The longer train consists – RTD now operates two- and three-car consists on the Central Corridor downtown – will require more all-red clearance at cross streets.

The so-called Barnes Dance refers to the inclusion of an all-red phase within the traffic signal cycle that stops vehicles on all approaches and allows pedestrians to freely cross, including diagonally. It’s called the Barnes Dance because it was brought to Denver by the city’s visionary first traffic engineer, Henry Barnes. He did not come up with it, but was the first to apply it in an entire downtown zone when it went live in 1952.

Henry Barnes, left, in Baltimore with traffic signal inventor Charles Adler, center, installing a plaque at the 1928 location of Adler's first signal. Photo from Signalfan.com

In his autobiography, “The Man with the Red and Green Eyes,” Barnes said he came up with the notion for the all-walk phase while dropping his daughter off at school and watching her try to cross the street with her friends. People trying to cross the street during breaks in traffic were playing games of chicken. In a presentation in Los Angeles to a meeting of the Institute of Traffic Engineers, Barnes told them:

“As things stood now, a downtown shopper needed a four-leaf clover, a voodoo charm, and a St. Christopher’s medal to make it in one piece from one curbstone to the other. As far as I was concerned – a traffic engineer with Methodist leanings – I didn’t think that the Almighty should be bothered with problems which we, ourselves, were capable of solving. Therefore, I was going to aid and abet prayers and benedictions with a practical scheme: Henceforth, the pedestrian – as far as Denver was concerned – was going to be blessed with a complete interval in the traffic signal cycle all his own. First of all, there would be the usual red and green signals for vehicular traffic. Let the cars have their way, moving straight through or making right turns. Then a red light for all vehicles while the pedestrians were given their own signal. In this interim, the street crossers could move directly or diagonally to their objectives, having free access to all four corners while all cars waited for a change of lights.”

Barnes acknowledged there were such intersections already using such a signal by the 1940s in Kansas City, Vancouver and a few other places. But Denver was where Barnes had them installed throughout the business district, where for the most part they remain in use today.

But downtown Denver has changed.

The 1982 debut of the 16th Street Mall into the traffic flow presented signal timing issues. To accommodate the transit shuttles, 16th was converted to two-way traffic from its former one-way function in the downtown grid. Engineers had to integrate efficient timing for RTD’s shuttle business going in both directions into a total 75-second cycle from green to green. Also, since the original Denver grid is platted on a 45-degree diagonal to north-south-east-west, the connections to East Denver and Golden Triangle streets east of Broadway and south of Colfax Avenue present timing issues.

Wager said Denver uses the mall shuttle movement as the starting point for setting all the other timings.

The diagonal crossing was dubbed the “Barnes Dance” after Denver Post city hall reporter John Buchanan wrote that, despite citizen and official apprehension in advance of its introduction, the innovative all-walk phase had pedestrians “dancing in the street.”

Barnes also oversaw the demise of the Denver Tramway’s 1950 conversion of the city’s extensive but aging streetcar lines to buses – having been quoted as saying he had no objection to streetcars except that they ran in the street.

Barnes departed Denver a year after introducing his dance and became traffic engineer in Baltimore, where he introduced computerized signal controls. He was hired to be New York City’s traffic commissioner in 1962 by Mayor Robert Wagner. Barnes used the all-walk phase in Manhattan, although only a few locations remain in use today.

He died of a heart attack on the job in New York in 1968, at the age of 61.

On a personal note, my own subconscious awareness of the Barnes Dance and downtown signal timing nearly got me whacked by a car when Denver altered signal timing with little fanfare years ago. While working at the Rocky Mountain News, I was in the habit of taking reading material with me when walking to appointments or lunch. The timing patterns had been inculcated into my brain for years: Named streets got the green light first, then the numbered streets, followed by the all-walk Barnes Dance.

One day, walking back to 400 W. Colfax from the Brown Palace, I stepped to the curb at Tremont Place and 17th Street, my nose in a book, looking to cross west toward 16th. When the last of the traffic zoomed past me on 17th, I started out into the street still reading, confident Henry Barnes had my back.

But I heard cars starting out from Tremont, including some making a left turn right into my path. I looked up to see a bumper coming at me, and jumped back.

I found out Denver traffic engineers had flipped the order of the signal phases east the mall. Numbered streets now went first, named streets second.

CO 96 wood timber bridge over draw in Kiowa County, 3.3 miles east of Crowley County line.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

A total of $25.3 million in state highway projects funded by the FASTER program is in CDOT’s pipeline, including replacement of four wooden bridges along a state highway where volunteer firefighters died in 2008 crossing where a fifth wooden bridge had been destroyed in a wildfire.

The 10 separate projects include $8.2 million in bridge replacements and $17.1 million in road safety work.

The list includes those under contract, those with bids already taken and those currently out for bids.

FASTER, which stands for Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery, was passed by the legislature last year. It represents the first new local funding to come in to state transportation projects in 19 years, since the gas tax was last increased. Some of FASTER’s revenue is allocated to cities and counties for local roads.

FASTER established two separate fees, earmarked to road safety projects and to replacement of the 124 poor-rated bridges on the state highway network.

The annual road safety fee is a sliding scale based on vehicle weight. Ranging from $16 for light vehicles to $39 for vehicles over eight tons, the owner of the average passenger car between one and two and a half tons would pay $23.

The bridge fee is also a sliding scale based on weight, and is being phased in over three years. Currently at $9 for the average passenger car, it will be $18 in two more years.

As a result, the owner of an average passenger car would pay $41 in 2011-12 between the two fees.

Among the bridges being replaced this year are four wooden structures on CO 96 in Crowley and Kiowa counties in southeast Colorado. It was on this corridor that a fifth wooden bridge west of Ordway burned in the grassfires of April 2008, and a fire truck from the Olney Springs volunteers rushing to help protect Ordway plunged over the abutment and into the Numa Drain Canal. Two firefighters died in the crash. The structures had been built in the 1930s and 1940s.

Here is the list of FASTER projects currently in the process of contracting:

FASTER Safety Projects

Under contract:
• I-70 between the Eisenhower Tunnel and Bakerville: Upgrades median barrier and resurfaces I-70. Asphalt Specialties, $2,955,811.15
• I-25 between approximately CO 392 and Harmony Road: Rubblizes and repairs failing concrete on I-25. Coulson Excavating, $9,384,771.55

Bids received:
• I-70 between Eisenhower Tunnel and Silverthorne: Installs electronic signage to manage truck speeds and the westbound runaway truck ramp. Sturgeon Electric, $577,954
• I-70 at Georgetown Hill: Installs electronic signage to warn motorists of slow moving or stopped traffic. Sturgeon Electric, $122,513
• US 285 between Bailey and Richmond Hill: Paves US 285 in asphalt, installs guardrail, improves lane transitions at the end of the existing climbing lanes and widens shoulders. LaFarge North American, dba LaFarge West Inc., $2,662,412.20

Currently under ad for bids:
• CO 93 at CO 170, Eldorado Springs: Upgrades the traffic signal at the intersection. Engineer’s estimate, $330,000
• CO 392 at Weld County Road 31: Installs a new traffic signal at the intersection. Engineer’s estimate, $300,000
• I-76 near Hudson: Installs median cable guardrail to help prevent crossover accidents.- Engineer’s estimate, $750,000

FASTER Bridge Projects
• CO 69 over Turkey Creek: Bridge replacement. Engineer’s estimate, $3 million
• CO 96 over Draw and Black Draw: Replaces four bridges. Engineer’s estimate, $5.2 million

The speed limit on South Santa Fe Drive is due for an increase from the unrealistic 45 mph to 55 mph between Iowa and Belleview avenues. Inside Lane photo.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

The speed limit on South Santa Fe Drive’s expressway segment has long been under-posted at 45 mph. Most of the time outside rush hours, that seemed to be the slowest any driver went. Including the police.

But now, the Colorado Department of Transportation is expected to raise the limit to 55 mph, reflecting what the traffic already is safely doing.

The change would be in the 4½-mile segment between Iowa and Belleview avenues, passing through Denver, Englewood and Sheridan.

Drivers will benefit in at least two ways.

Many of them will no longer be caught in periodic ticket-writing sweeps of motorists who are driving the safe speed that the roadway and traffic allow.

Plus, they just might find it’s a safety improvement.

That’s right. Motorist safety tends to improve when traffic is moving along in a close range of speeds. People say speed kills, but more accurately, it’s differential in speed that kills. When posted speed limits are substantially less than the prevailing speed of traffic, the wider variation in speeds that result from some drivers observing the lower posted limit, mixing with those who are exceeding it, increases the chances of accidents.

Speed limit increase on South Santa Fe would be between Iowa and Belleview Avenues.

General practice says that speed limits should be set by measuring free-flowing traffic and determining the 85th percentile speed – the speed at or under which 85 percent of all drivers are traveling. Most of the vehicles tend to bunch around there. That number, rounded up to the closest multiple of 5, would be the speed limit.

Studies have shown that drivers tend to instinctively select the speed at which they feel safe and comfortable. Outliers who either intend to go faster or need to go slower are filtered out of the calculation by using the 85th percentile speed.

South Santa Fe has long been in need of change. Several years back, while commuting to work, I got in line behind Denver’s photo radar van when it pulled into traffic on Hampden Avenue at Sheridan after clicking automated ticket pictures of speeders there. I followed it off the exit at Santa Fe as it headed north toward downtown.

The photo radar van kept pulling away from me at 45, so I decided to keep pace with it. Just north of the Evans Avenue overpass – right where Denver sometimes still posts the speed van despite a state law that restricts where it can be used – the enforcement van topped out at 66 mph.

CDOT has actually found that a roadway’s average speed can be reduced when it raises the speed limit.

A speed limit that reflects what most traffic actually is doing prompts faster drivers to slow down because there is less need to pass slower traffic. That’s what happened when CDOT raised the limit on the Sixth Avenue Freeway in Lakewood in 2001 from 55 to 65 between Sheridan Boulevard and Interstate 70.

Data showed 85th percentile speeds dropped by up to 5 mph after the limit was raised. While up to nine percent of drivers had been going faster than 70 before the increase, no drivers during the survey were going that fast after the limit was raised.

CDOT has similarly raised the limits on Interstate 25 through the Denver Tech Center and on up to Evans Avenue, as well as on Interstate 225 between I-25 and Parker Road.

But the city of Boulder recently talked CDOT into lowering the speed limit on a mile and a half of U.S. 36 between Baseline Road and Foothills Parkway from 65 to 60. CDOT agreed to a three-year test period to see if it has an impact on safety.

According to CDOT, U.S. 36 carries 72,100 vehicles a day in that segment, and it has seen a significant increase in traffic volumes in the last few years. Over the last 10 years, CDOT said, there has been by a nine-percent increase in median barrier collisions.

That may actually have little to do with the speed limit increase, which took place almost 10 years ago as well, and more to do with the significant rise in total traffic. It would be difficult to attribute the cause of the increase in accidents to the speed limit without further analysis.

“Crash rates on this portion of U.S. 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.”

To the extent that it fosters wider variations in motorist speeds, it may actually decrease safety.

One of Boulder’s concerns is highway noise in adjacent neighborhoods, and slower speeds produce less noise. But noise walls are usually the way to address that concern. Instituting a lower speed limit on a roadway on which prevailing speeds are higher is likely to foster widespread driver disregard of the lower limit and potentially decrease safety.

Hamon Contractors is building the middle segment of the new 104th Avenue bridge in Northglenn, replacing an original I-25 bridge from 1962. CDOT photo.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

More than $390 million in road construction projects on state highways will be underway this year in the metro Denver area, with more than a third of the total funded by the federal stimulus program.

The activity is spread across 32 projects in the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Region 6, which covers much of the Denver area with the exception of Boulder and Douglas County south of Highlands Ranch. It includes projects CDOT is doing plus several city projects in Denver and Aurora on state highways that CDOT is overseeing.

CDOT’s Region 6 staff led by Region Director Reza Akhavan outlined the projects in a briefing that brought to light some of the savings achieved recently in bidding results that allowed budgeted funds to be plowed back into additional work.

“This will be keeping us very busy this year,” Akhavan said.

CDOT aerial photo shows grading work at the 120th Avenue Connection project over US 36, looking southwest.

Foremost was savings in the $23.3 million 120th Avenue Connection project in Broomfield, which is providing a straight-across link west-to-east from CO 128 to 120th Avenue to allow traffic to bypass the busy Wadsworth/Midway Boulevard interchange with U.S. 36. Inside Lane wrote about this project when ground was broken, and at the time, CDOT didn’t have funding to start the second phase that would include the tie-ins on the east side with 120th.

Now, says CDOT Region 6 North Program Engineer John Schwab, savings achieved through the design-build contracting process used by CDOT and the contractor partnership of Edward Kraemer & Sons and HNTB will allow CDOT to begin design work on that second phase, as well as right-of-way acquisition. The hefty construction costs for that phase, estimated up to $40 million, means the rest will have to wait for more funding.

They projects range from the inexpensive– such as a $180,000 paint restriping of Parker Road between Hampden and Belleview Avenues to fit in third lanes in each direction, a small price to squeeze out extra traffic capacity on the busy corridor, and $500,000 for a wildlife fence along U.S. 6 between Heritage Road and 19th Street in Golden – to several in the $30 million and $40 million class.

Because of the lead time to get stimulus-funded projects underway, there are many projects this construction season that are being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. They include the $47.2 construction of a new Central Park Boulevard interchange on Interstate 70 by SEMA Construction to provide better access to Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood and commercial area, the $17.9 million addition of a 17th Avenue interchange on Interstate 225 by Hamon Contractors to ease traffic flows into the Fitzsimons medical campus in Aurora, the $36.9 million replacement of the Alameda bridge over I-25 in Denver by Jalisco International and a new $32 million flyover ramp for southbound Santa Fe Drive to eastbound C-470 by Edward Kraemer and Sons in Littleton.

CDOT also will be starting up projects funded by the new revenue from the FASTER program’s vehicle registration fee hikes. They include new signals, auxiliary lane and realignment of the roadway geometry at the hazardous intersection of CO 7 and York Street in Adams County, more median cable guards on C-470 to prevent crossover head-on crashes and concrete median barrier on South Santa Fe Drive in Littleton.

“While a few large Recovery Act projects are still underway, there are many projects that are just starting that will greatly improve safety and mobility on our highway system,” said CDOT Executive Director Russell George. “Specifically, there will be several critical bridge and safety projects as a result of FASTER.”

Use this map of CDOT’s Region 6 — most of the Denver Metro area — along with the project descriptions below to see where these projects are located. I have put all 32 projects below with details on cost, schedule, work hours and project scope, along with pictures from many of them:

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Metro Denver CDOT Projects Spring-Summer 2010
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North Area (North Program Engineer John Schwab)
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Edward Kraemer and Sons has placed girders at the new 120th Avenue bridge over US 36 has girders and will soon install bridge decking. CDOT photo.

Cost: $23.3 million

Contractor: Edward Kraemer and Sons, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Yet to be determined

Work: Constructs a new six-lane road across US 36 to connect 120th Avenue and State Highway 128 in Broomfield in order to provide greater connectivity to US 36 and local roadways. This project will construct two of the three phases needed to complete the entire project. As part of this project, a new bridge over US 36 will be constructed as well as a new bridge over Commerce Street. Several local roads such as Commerce Street, Old Wadsworth Boulevard and 118th Avenue will be realigned to correspond with the new roadway. The RTD park-n-Ride facility at Wadsworth Parkway will be relocated near the Broomfield Event Center. Currently, motorists in the Broomfield area can only cross US 36 at Wadsworth Parkway. Due to the lack of continuity with State Highway 128 and 120th Avenue, the US 36/Wadsworth Parkway interchange is heavily congested and State Highway 128 and 120th Avenue are operating at capacity during peak hours. Traffic forecasts indicate at least a doubling in traffic over the next 20 years. The new 120th Avenue Connection will provide relief on these major corridors by improving connectivity, safety and mobility.

Update: To date, crews have conducted embankment work on 120th Avenue and have begun bridge construction over US 36. Girders and bridge deck panels have been installed for the new bridge over US 36.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. with double lane closures from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: September 2009 through October 2010
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Hamon Contractors is working on the middle segment of the new 104th Avenue bridge over I-25 in Northglenn. CDOT photo.

2. 104th Avenue over I-25

Cost: $6.5 million

Contractor: Hamon Contractors, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Yet to be determined

Work: Replaces the 104th Avenue bridge over I-25, which was originally constructed in 1962 and is one of Colorado’s structurally deficient bridges. The new bridge will be wider to accommodate an additional left turn lane from eastbound 104th Avenue to northbound I-25.

Update: The new bridge is being constructed in three phases with work beginning on the northern portion. Currently, crews have completed the northern and middle portions of the new bridge and work will begin on the southern portion towards the end of April.

Work Hours:
I-25: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. with double lane closures from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. There will be occasional full closures of I-25 for girder installation, deck panel installation and bridge deck concrete pours.
104th Avenue: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with double lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. There will always one lane open in each direction.

Duration: May 2009 through January 2011
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The original 80th Avenue bridge over U.S. 36 was built in 1951 as part of the Denver-Boulder Turnpike. Structures Inc. will build the replacement. CDOT photo.

Cost: $7 million

Contractor: Structures, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Yet to be determined

Work: Replaces the 80th Avenue bridge over US 36, which was originally constructed in 1951 and is one of Colorado’s structurally deficient bridges. When complete, the bridge will be wider to accommodate an additional left turn lane from 80th Avenue to Oakwood Drive and a wider sidewalk. The project also realigns 80th Avenue to the east to improve sight distance, access and traffic flow. The improvements will accommodate the future widening of US 36 as determined through the US 36 Environmental Impact Statement.

Work Hours:
US 36: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. There will be occasional full closures of US 36 for girder installation, bridge deck panel installation and bridge deck concrete pours.
80th Avenue: 80th Avenue will be closed for the duration of the project and a detour route will be in place which takes motorists to either 92nd Avenue on the north or 72nd Avenue on the south.

Duration: May 2010 through May 2011
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SEMA Construction crews are nearing completion on new I-76 bridges over the South Platte River and CO 224 in Adams County. CDOT photo.

4. I-76 over State Highway 224 and I-76 over the Union Pacific Railroad

Cost: $11 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: SEMA Construction, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Jake Koenig

Work: Replaces the existing I-76 structures over State Highway 224 and the Union Pacific Railroad, which were both originally built in 1967 and are two of Colorado’s structurally deficient bridges. In addition, the project will construct a crash wall for the I-76 structure over the Union Pacific Railroad as well for the State Highway 224 structure over the Union Pacific Railroad. The crash walls protect the bridge supports in case of a train derailment and are needed for the future North Metro FasTracks line. RTD is funding the design and construction of both walls.

Update: The bridges are being constructed in three phases as to not disrupt traffic. Currently, crews have completed the westbound and middle portions of the new bridges and are working on the eastbound portion. Girders have been installed for the final portion and crews will pour the bridge deck in late April.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with occasional night work.

Duration: June 2009 through July 2010
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The new CO 7 bridge being built by Zak Dirt Inc. over the South Platte River in Brighton is nearly complete. CDOT photo.

5. State Highway 7 over the Platte River

Cost: $3.6 million

Contractor: Zak Dirt, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Jake Koenig

Work: Replaces the existing State Highway 7 structure over the Platte River with a new structure and replaces the existing bridge over the McCann Ditch with a new concrete box culvert. The State Highway 7 bridge over Platte River was originally constructed in 1967 and is one of Colorado’s structurally deficient bridges.

Update: To date, crews have completed two thirds of the new bridge and will have the final one third complete by the end of April. In May, crews will pave State Highway 7 in asphalt through the construction zone.

Work Hours: State Highway 7 is in a temporary alignment with traffic shifted to the south, but all lanes are open in each direction. Occasional night work will take place Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: June 2009 through June 2010
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6. 96th Avenue at I-76

Cost: $4.1 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Castle Rock Construction Co.

Resident Engineer: Jake Koenig

Work: Constructs roundabouts at the on and off-ramps at the interchange of 96th Avenue and I-76 to improve safety and mobility.

Update: The majority of the work is now complete, but crews are finishing work in the southeast quadrant of the roundabouts.

Work Hours: Single-lane alternating traffic on 96th Avenue Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The ramp from eastbound I-76 to 96th Avenue is closed as well as the southeast service road.

Duration: May 2009 through April 2010
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7. US 6 over Lakewood Gulch

Cost: $1.1 million

Contractor: Hamon Contractors, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Yet to be determined

Work: Repairs bridges at three locations in the Denver metro area. The work includes cleaning and repairing the culvert at US 6 over Lakewood Gulch; removing deteriorating concrete and patching at Quebec Street over Sand Creek; and replacing expansion joints on I-70 over I-25.

Update: The work on US 6 over Lakewood Gulch and Quebec Street over Sand Creek is complete. Crews will begin repairs at I-70 over I-25 in May once the expansion joints have been fabricated.

Work Hours: Single lane closures from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., Sunday through Thursday.

Duration: February 2010 through June 2010
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8. Colorado Boulevard (State Highway 2) – 62nd Avenue to Quebec Street

Cost: $3.2 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: LaFarge North America, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Bill McDonnell

Work: Resurfaces 2.4 miles of Colorado Boulevard in asphalt and upgrades traffic signals.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Duration: May 2010 through September 2010
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9. US 85 at 144th Avenue

Cost: $800,000 (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Bill McDonnell

Work: Constructs raised traffic islands on 144th Avenue to prohibit traffic in both directions of 144th Avenue from making left turns onto US 85 and also from crossing over US 85. Improvements will also be made to the left turn lanes on US 85.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with occasional night work.

Duration: May 2010 through June 2010
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10. State Highway 128 – McCaslin Boulevard to Eldorado Boulevard

Cost: $1.4 (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Bill McDonnell

Work: Rotomills and resurfaces approximately one mile of SH 128 in asphalt

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with occasional night work.

Duration: August 2010 through September 2010
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Central Area (Central Program Engineer Jim Bemelen)
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11. I-70 at Ward Road

Cost: $8.5 million

Contractor: Asphalt Paving, Co.

Resident Engineer: Ed Martinez

Work: Reconstructs the eastbound I-70 exit ramps at 44th Avenue/Ward Road by moving the ramps east a quarter of a mile from their current location in order to increase merge distance. The north side of 44th Avenue will also be widened to accommodate two left turn lanes from eastbound 44th Avenue to I-70 as well as one full continuous merge lane on 44th Avenue between the I-70 off-ramp and Ward Road. Following the completion of interchange work, I-70 between Colfax Avenue and Kipling Street will be rotomilled and paved in asphalt.

Work Hours:
I-70: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m with double lane closures from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
44th Avenue: Lane closures Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. At least two left turn lanes from 44th Avenue to eastbound I-70 must remain open at all times as well as at least one lane of eastbound and westbound 44th Avenue.

Duration: January 2010 through June 2011
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12. I-70 – Colorado Boulevard to Monaco Street

Cost: $5 million (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Ed Martinez

Work: Replaces concrete barrier along I-70, constructs a new crash wall on Colorado Boulevard under I-70 and installs several new permanent sign structures.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. with double lane closures from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Duration: June 2010 through October 2010
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13. I-70 – Brighton Boulevard (State Highway 265) to Colorado Boulevard (State Highway 2)

Cost: $21.7 million

Contractor: American Civil Constructors, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Tony Stewart

Work: Repairs or replaces 60 expansion joints on the I-70 viaduct, which is over 40 years old. The project also reconstructs the median to improve drainage and replaces the bridge rail. In all, 64 expansion joints will be repaired or replaced on the viaduct between two projects. The first project, which was completed in 2006, repaired or replaced four expansion joints. This work will help extend the life of this aging structure, which was originally constructed in 1964.

Update: To date, crews have completed the majority of the expansion joint work between Brighton Boulevard and Vasquez Boulevard and have just started work between Vasquez Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard.

Work hours:
I-70: Single lane closures Sunday through Saturday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. with double lane closures from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
46th Avenue: Various segments of eastbound or westbound 46th Avenue will be closed based on the location of the work on I-70.

Duration: September 2008 through May 2011
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14. Colorado Boulevard (State Highway 2) – Alameda Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard

Cost: $3.8 million

Contractor: LaFarge West, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Tony Stewart

Work: Resurfaces approximately 3.5 miles of Colorado Boulevard in asphalt, reconstructs the median and curb ramps. The traffic signals will be upgraded and turn lanes will be improved at the Colorado Boulevard/Colfax Avenue; Colorado Boulevard/17th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard/Montview Boulevard intersections.

Work hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Duration: May 2010 through October 2010
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15. I-70 at Central Park Boulevard

Cost: $47.2 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: SEMA Construction, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Tony Stewart

Work: Constructs a full interchange at I-70 and Central Park Boulevard which is between Havana Street and Quebec Street. The project will construct all ramps and structures for eastbound and westbound I-70 and for Central Park Boulevard. I-70 between Sand Creek and Havana Street will also be paved in asphalt. This project is being funded by the City and County of Denver with CDOT oversight.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. with double lane closures from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Occasional weekend work is possible.

Duration: June 2010 through Spring 2011
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16. US 287 from 10th Avenue to Baseline Road (State Highway 7)

Cost: $5.9 million (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Randy Furst

Work: Replaces approximately 230 concrete slabs, rotomills and paves two bridges on US 287 and conducts erosion control work on the east side of US 287.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Duration: May 2010 through December 2010
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17. Federal Boulevard (US 287) at 120th Avenue (State Highway 128)
Sheridan Boulevard (State Highway 95) – 52nd Avenue to 56th Avenue

Cost: $664,000

Contractor: K.E.C.I Colorado, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Randy Furst

Work: Upgrades the traffic signals at both locations to include mast arm poles and LED lights. A raised median will also be installed on Sheridan Avenue between 52nd Avenue and 56th Avenue to improve safety

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Duration: March 2010 through June 2010
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South Area (South Program Engineer Paul Jesaitis)
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Structures Inc. has excavation underway for the widening of Arapahoe Road under I-25. CDOT photo.

Cost: $2.4 million

Contractor: Structures, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Abe Lavassani

Work: Adds an additional through lane in each direction by placing the new lanes where the existing on-ramp lanes exist. This means that the third lane will be separated from the existing through lanes by the pier columns. In addition, a turn lane on westbound Arapahoe Road between the southbound I-25 off-ramp and Yosemite Street will be added and the center median will be modified to accommodate the new configuration.

Update: The majority of the work has been completed, but median work and paving remain. Over the next couple of months, crews will remove the medians on eastbound and westbound Arapahoe Road, pave the additional lane from southbound I-25 to westbound Arapahoe Road, complete asphalt paving through the construction zone and complete landscaping.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. There will be occasional weekend work.

Duration: September 2009 through June 2010
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19. Southbound I-25 to I-225
Parker Road (State Highway 83) to Southbound I-225

Cost: $1.5 million

Contractor: ABCO Construction, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Abe Lavassani

Work: Installs an anti-icing treatment on the ramps from southbound I-25 to northbound I-225 and northbound Parker Road to southbound I-225 to improve traction. Automatic anti-icing systems will also be installed on the ramp from southbound I-25 to northbound I-225 and from southbound I-225 to southbound I-25.

Update: The traction material has been installed on the ramp from southbound I-25 to northbound I-225 and on one lane of the ramp from northbound Parker Road to southbound I-225. Crews will likely return in May to complete the paving on the second lane of the northbound Parker Road to southbound I-225 ramp. Crews will be wrapping up the installation of the two anti-icing systems in the next couple of weeks.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday.

Duration: October 2009 through June 2010
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20. Parker Road (State Highway 83) at Arapahoe Road (State Highway 88)

Cost: $30 million (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Abe Lavassani

Work: The final phase of this interchange improvement project constructs a grade-separated interchange and the corresponding ramps and improves drainage. When complete, Parker Road will run over Arapahoe Road and the traffic signal will be removed for free-flowing traffic at the interchange.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Throughout construction, Parker Road or Arapahoe Road may be placed in a temporary alignment.

Duration: May 2010 through December 2011
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21. I-225 at Colfax Avenue (US 40)- Phase I

Cost: $1.4 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Concrete Works of Colorado

Resident Engineer: Rick Erjavec

Work: This is the first phase of an interchange improvement project. This phase will reconstruct the southbound I-225 off-ramp to Colfax Avenue as well as the northbound I-225 on-ramp from Colfax Avenue. Drainage improvements will also be made. The City of Aurora will construct this phase with CDOT oversight.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: November 2009 through April 2010
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22. I-225 at Colfax Avenue (US 40)- Phase 2

Cost: $17.9 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Hamon Contractors, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Rick Erjavec

Work: The second phase of the interchange improvement project will construct the southbound off-ramp to 17th Avenue and Colfax Avenue along with the southern portion of 17th Avenue to serve inbound traffic. The City of Aurora will construct this phase with CDOT oversight.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: April 2010 through December 2011
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23. I-225 – 2nd Avenue to Mississippi Avenue

Cost: $33 million (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Rick Erjavec

Work: Widens I-225 between 2nd Avenue and Mississippi Avenue to accommodate three lanes in each direction with an additional auxiliary lane. I-225 from north of Colfax Avenue to 2nd Avenue will be restriped to also accommodate three lanes in each direction. A new 8-10 foot concrete noise wall will be constructed near Mississippi Avenue to replace the deteriorating wooden fence and a new 8-10 foot noise wall will be constructed near Potomac Circle.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: June 2010 through August 2011
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Castle Rock Construction crews continue to work on rehabilitation of the C-470 roadway. CDOT photo.

24. C-470 – I-25 to Santa Fe Drive (US 85)
C-470 Bike Trail – I-25 to I-70

Cost: $32 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Castle Rock Construction Co.

Resident Engineer: Ron Buck

Work: Repairs or replaces concrete slabs along nine miles of C-470 and resurfaces C-470 in asphalt. Rehabilitates and replaces concrete slabs on the C-470 bicycle/pedestrian trail.

Update: To date, the concrete repairs are complete on westbound C-470 and the majority of eastbound C-470. Crews will complete the concrete work on eastbound C-470 in the coming months and then begin asphalt paving on both eastbound and westbound C-470. Bike path work is also still underway.

Work Hours: The majority of the roadway work on C-470 will take place from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday each weekend. Single lane closures are also possible Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Work on the bike path will take place Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Duration: July 2009 through September 2010
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The 1958 Valley Highway bridge over Alameda Avenue -- and the flash flooding that often occurs underneath it -- will be things of the past with a replacement project now getting underway by Jalisco International. CDOT photo.

25. I-25 at Alameda Avenue

Cost: $36.9 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Jalisco International, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Ron Buck

Work: Replaces the Alameda Avenue bridge over I-25 with one that is wider to accommodate an additional lane in each direction. Minor improvements will also be made to I-25 under Alameda Avenue and drainage will be improved. This work is part of a larger project that will eventually improve I-25 as determined in the I-25 Valley Highway Environmental Impact Statement.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. with occasional weekend work.

Duration: April 2010 through September 2011
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26. Santa Fe Drive (US 85) at C-470

Cost: $32 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Ron Buck

Work: Constructs a flyover ramp from southbound Santa Fe Drive to eastbound C-470 to improve safety and mobility.

Work Hours:
Santa Fe Drive: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
C-470: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Full closures of C-470 will also be required for girder installation, bridge deck panel installation and concrete deck pour.

Duration: June 2010 through January 2012
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27. I-25 – 6th Avenue to 23rd Avenue

Cost: $4.3 million (ARRA project)

Contractor: Brannan Sand and Gravel Co.

Resident Engineer: Tony Gross

Work: Rotomills and resurfaces approximately three miles of I-25 in asphalt.

Update: The majority of work is complete, but crews need to complete some smoothness grinding and some erosion control work.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Duration: June 2009 through April 2010
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Concrete Express crews excavate for new bridge pier footings at the Hampden Avenue bridge over Federal Boulevard. CDOT photo.

28. Hampden Avenue (US 285) -Kipling Street to Federal Boulevard

Cost: $40.1 million

Contractor: Concrete Express, Inc.

Resident Engineer: Tony Gross

Work: Replaces the Wadsworth Boulevard (State Highway 121), Pierce Street and Federal Boulevard (State Highway 88) bridges over Hampden Avenue and reconstructs Hampden Avenue between Wadsworth Boulevard and Federal Boulevard.

Update: Construction started near Federal Boulevard with crews realigning Hampden Avenue to accommodate reconstruction in the median. In late April/early May, construction will begin to replace the Hampden Avenue bridge over Federal Boulevard. Construction will continue to move west as work progresses.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Full closures of Hampden Avenue will also be required for girder installation, bridge deck panel installation and concrete deck pour.

Duration: January 2010 through June 2011

Region 6 Traffic Engineering Projects (Traffic Engineer Steve Hersey)
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29. State Highway 7 at York Street

Cost: $750,000 (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Jake Koenig

Work: Adds an auxiliary lane on State Highway 7 from 168th Avenue to York Street and installs a new traffic signal at the SH 7/York Street intersection.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Duration: June 2010 through November 2010
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30. C-470 – Quebec Street to I-25
C-470 – Morrison Road to Wadsworth Boulevard
Santa Fe Drive (US 85)- Aspen Grove Way to Ridge Road

Cost: $3.3 million (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Leela Rajasekar

Work: Installs median cable guardrail in two locations along C-470 to help prevent crossover accidents. Concrete median barrier will also be installed on Santa Fe Drive.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Duration: June 2010 through February 2011
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31. US 6 – Heritage Road to 19th Avenue

Cost: $500,000 (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Leela Rajasekar

Work: Installs a wildlife fence along US 6 to help prevent wildlife/vehicle collisions.

Work Hours: Single lane closures Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday through
Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: August 2010 through November 2010
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32. Parker Road (State Highway 83) – Belleview Avenue to Hampden Avenue

Cost: $180,000 (estimate)

Contractor: Yet to be determined

Resident Engineer: Alazar Tesfaye

Work: Restripes Parker Road to accommodate a third through lane in each direction.

Work Hours: Sunday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Duration: May 2010 through June 2010

State figures for total registrations showed 5,067,035 license plates registered in Colorado as of Jan. 31. That is 54,223 fewer than were registered as of June 30.

Late fees on non-motorized trailers became a sore point for many Coloradans when FASTER bumped up the penalty from a flat $10 to a new rate of $25 per month it is late, up to a maximum of $100. Trailer owners accustomed to picking up their tags when they broke out seasonal trailers for use and simply paying the $10 or even getting waivers from county clerks instead complained to the clerks and lawmakers about the penalties.

Last year’s increase in auto registration fees aimed at raising separate funds for repairs of poor-rated bridges and roadways – a program known as FASTER, the first new funding stream for highway repairs in Colorado in 18 years – has brought in slightly less revenue than projected in part because of fewer auto registrations than analysts projected.

As a result, the Colorado Department of Transportation won’t be able to fund all of the projects it initially put on its lists for road and bridge repairs.

Regular trailers comprise the third-largest category of plates. In June, there were 599,556 registered regular trailers in the state. At the end of January, there were 581,520.

Colorado has 104 types of license plates on the streets right now. The largest single category is regular passenger vehicles, which declined from 2,550,612 in June to 2,541,988 at the end of January. Regular light trucks are the second-largest category, declining from 728,422 in June to 718,945 in January.

You can read the breakdown of plates for June here, and compare it to the January breakdown here.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

The low bidder on the first bridge replacement project funded by the FASTER bill’s increase in vehicle registration fees was the one closest to the job.

Walsenburg Sand and Gravel Co. bid $1,837,111 to replace the bridge over Turkey Creek on CO 69 near Farisita. The project includes realignment of a half mile of the highway at the bridge. Walsenburg and Farisita are both in Huerfano County.

The Colorado Department of Transportation received seven bids for this first FASTER project. The other bidders were scattered between Longmont and Pueblo and as Far East as Swink. They were Zak Dirt Inc. of Longmont, Colorado Constructors Inc. of Denver, TLM Constructors of Swink, Tricon 2 of Castle Rock, Bassett Construction of Pueblo and SEMA Construction of Centennial.

All of the bids were over the engineer’s estimate of $1,750,941, with Walsenburg’s five percent higher. They ranged as high as $2,328,620.

The 1932 steel low-truss bridge on CO 69 over Turkey Creek in Huerfano County will be the first on replaced under the FASTER program. A Walsenburg company was the low bidder. CDOT photo.

The Turkey Creek bridge was built in 1932 and was rehabilitated 45 years ago. CO 96 is an original state highway from the 1920s. You can read the history of CO 96 at Matt Salek’s Highways of Colorado site. The Turkey Creek bridge is a steel low-truss two-lane structure 62 feet in length. It is rated 26.9 on a scale of 100 for structural deficiency and it is one of the 124 bridges on CDOT’s list of poor-rated structures that FASTER was set up to replace.

Under the FASTER program, vehicle owners pay an extra “bridge safety fee” and a “road safety fee” (click here for the fee schedule) earmarked toward repairing unsafe bridges and roads across the state. The bridge fee is phased in over three years, with the average passenger vehicle costing $9 this fiscal year and rising to $18 by 2011-2012. The road safety fee is $23 for the average passenger vehicle, for an eventual total of $41 per year. Lighter and heavier vehicles vary.

The Colorado Transportation Commission last summer selected up to 17 candidate bridges for replacement with the first year’s FASTER revenue, but the fees haven’t met projections so far and it is uncertain how many can be put under contract this first year.

CDOT will soon be accepting bids for three more FASTER bridge replacement projects – U.S. 24 over Twin Creek in Teller County, U.S. 24 eastbound over Fountain Creek in El Paso County and CO 67 over a draw north of Woodland Park in Teller County. That last bridge is made of wood and was built in 1939.

Denver's design shows the new bridge, in green, with a traditional diamond-type interchange on I-70 and a set of braided ramps, in purple, on the west side connecting to I-270.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

Where jetliners used to cross Interstate 70, Denver soon will be building a new $50.6 million interchange project that will reunite the south side of the old Stapleton airfield with the north side.

But this time, it’s not 747s or DC-10s that will go over top of I-70 traffic, but Stapleton neighborhood residents, regional shoppers and other highway travelers.

The new interchange will carry the Stapleton neighborhood’s Central Park Boulevard over I-70 to Northfield Boulevard in the growing commercial area where Stapleton’s two old north-south runways used to be.

The project is being done by SEMA Construction and Wilson and Company under a design-build contract with Denver. In January, SEMA was given the Notice to Proceed, and the design phase is at 40 percent completion, according to Steven Coggins, Denver’s project manager. Construction is expected to start in June with completion anticipated by October 2011.

A TWA jet is on take-off from Stapleton's old Runway 35 crossing I-70. Several years later, a second north-south runway was added north of I-70 and a second tunnel-bridge was built next to this one for the access taxiway. Photo at Matt Salek's Milepost 61 blog.

The project is using a mix of funding sources including the city’s Better Denver bond program, which is providing up to $30 million.

It is also using $12 million in federal stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act competitive grants program, channeled through the Denver Regional Council of Governments; and $8 million in other federal transportation funding.

And this week, the Colorado Transportation Commission is expected to approve an application for $1 million in earmarked Interstate Maintenance funds from the Federal Highway Administration to add the replacement of 800 feet of dilapidated concrete on the ramp from westbound I-70 to Interstate 270 to the project. The new ramps tied into this segment but initially it was going to be left as-is.

The Colorado Department of Transportation, which controls I-70, is providing oversight.

Rendering from Denver's interchange study shows the conceptual layout of the wide bridge planned for Central Park Boulevard over I-70. Ramps from and to I-270 straddle I-70 under the bridge.

The “spaghetti” of ramps will allow drivers direct access into both sides of Stapleton via a new Central Park Boulevard bridge, which will cross I-70 just to the east of the existing airport cargo bridge. That is the only bridge over the highway left from Stapleton’s airport days, but it was not adequate for re-use. Central Park Boulevard’s bridge will be between the cargo bridge and the spot where old Runway 17R-35L used to cross over on a long bridge that formed a tunnel carrying I-70. Just to the east of that spot, there used to be a second I-70 tunnel over which a taxiway to Runway 17L-35R was located.

While development of the Stapleton neighborhood has pretty much erased traces of the old runways south of I-70, there are still vestiges of them remaining on the north side.

The Stapleton developer, Forest City Enterprises, will spend an additional amount up to $20 million to construct the extension of Central Park Boulevard from 36th Avenue to Northfield Boulevard.

The design includes two “braided” style ramps, which allow traffic to and from I-270 to cross over entrance and exit ramps from I-70 to Central Park Boulevard. Braided ramps lift one flow of traffic over another to let them change sides without conflict.

While more expensive to build, braided ramps are much safer than old-style “weave lanes” in which traffic trying to merge left onto a freeway had to compete with traffic merging right to get off. Recently constructed examples are at southbound Interstate 25 and Speer Boulevard, and northbound I-25 at Belleview Avenue/Interstate 225.

Old CDOT photo shows then-new I-70 tunnel going under Stapleton Airport's Runway 17-35. Later, a second tunnel was built for the highway, closer to front of photo, for a taxiway to a new runway on the north airfield.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

Interstate 70 reopened to traffic around 3 p.m. Thursday for the first time in four days through Glenwood Canyon, with CDOT clearing one lane in each direction through the area damaged by a rockslide early Monday morning.

The Colorado Department of Transportation imposed a 14-foot limit on vehicle widths during the temporary two-lane restriction. That is because of curvature and narrowed lanes that will be in place until the bridge deck, damaged by numerous boulders including one weighing 66 tons, can be fully repaired over the next few months.

It also temporarily lowered the speed limit to 40 mph.

“CDOT wants to thank motorists and impacted communities for their patience during this time. More information to come tomorrow afternoon on repair plans,” the department said in a statement announcing the reopening.

The emergency started early Monday morning, just after midnight Sunday, when large rocks came down onto the I-70 viaduct west of the ramps to and from the Hanging Lake Rest Area. The slide punctured about a half dozen holes and divots in the bridge deck. At this location, the highway is up against the north wall of the canyon but is elevated on a the viaduct as it curves eastward toward the twin portals of Hanging Lake Tunnels across the Colorado River on the south side of the canyon.

The highway crosses the Colorado River and Union Pacific Railroad, just west of the Shoshone Dam. The debris was scattered over about a 300-foot length of highway.

Traffic moves on I-70 through the rockslide area in Glenwood Canyon Thursday afternoon, after a four-day closure. CDOT photo.

The lengthy closure was made longer by the discovery that another huge boulder, 20 feet in diameter, was perched precariously on the north canyon wall in the slide chute. That made it necessary for CDOT to get the boulder removed and scale off the rest of the loose rock.

That was done Wednesday around sunset, and it worked well for CDOT. The blast not only broke up the boulder into smaller rocks of insufficient mass to inflict more damage on the bridge deck below; it also brought down almost all of the remaining loose rock CDOT had to remove, eliminating the need for extensive follow-up on picking and scaling the canyon wall.

Gov. Bill Ritter declared the situation a disaster on Monday, allowing the state to go after assistance from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for repairs.

It is close to the same area where an early morning Thanksgiving rockslide in 2004 did much the same type of damage. Then, CDOT was able to get two lanes of traffic reopened in 31 hours but it had to restrict long trailer trucks for two months while full repairs were made and all four lanes reopened.

In this case, the bridge deck damage was more significant and extends into the eastbound lanes, making it more difficult to use them as a detour. CDOT plans to use emergency contracting to hire a company to make the full repairs.

The dirt is starting to move in the $40.1 million design-build reconstruction of four miles along Hampden Avenue, starting at the east end of the corridor with replacement of the bridge over Federal Boulevard.

Inside Lane takes you on a tour of the job with this video featuring the project managers, plus a slide show.

There is a short story about the project below the slide show.

Hampden Bridge Project at Federal from K J Flynn on Vimeo.

You can view a slideshow of the work. The photos were taken on Friday, March 5.

To expand to full screen and read the captions, first click on the “play” button and then click on the box that will appear at the lower right corner — with the four little arrows pointing outward. When the full screen appears, click on “Show Info” at the menu bar on the top right.

The team of Concrete Express Inc. and Tsiouvaras Simmons and Holderness is doing the work. With construction at Federal well underway, crews will next start in on the Wadsworth Boulevard bridge replacement. The Pierce Street structure also will be replaced. Hampden will be rebuilt in concrete except for the western one-mile portion, which will be asphalt. The portions of the median that are now grass will be paved over with a center concrete barrier, similar to the segment between Knox Court and Sheridan Boulevard, to widen the roadway. It will remain striped for four lanes rather than six, however.

Under the design-build method of project delivery, the Colorado Department of Transportation establishes the scope and goals of the program and provides early design work, to the 30 percent level. It then puts the program on the market and, instead of taking the lowest bidder as in the traditional design-bid-build model, it looks for the team that brings the best value to the project. The winning team completes both the design and the construction, and savings it finds go to fund the options that are added.

When used in the right projects, design-build can help stretch scarce transportation dollars, which don’t go as far as they used to.

Read more here about the project at CDOT’s web site.

The Concrete Express/TSH team proposed several additions to the scope including reconstruction of four miles, toward Kipling Street, instead of just three miles. It did that by using less expensive methods on the bridge reconstructions – using clear-span structures to make the three crossings without center piers – and plowed the savigns into added scope for the project.

Design-build is how CDOT and the Regional Transportation District did the $1.75 billion T-REX reconstruction of Interstate 25 and 225, with new lanes and light rail. This is the largest project CDOT has done with this method since then.

Hampden Avenue was once State Highway 70. It ran west out of Englewood, across the South Platte River on an older bridge near the old Cinderella Twin Drive-In and through Sheridan until it detoured south on Lowell then west on Kenyon Avenue, on the north side of Fort Logan National Cemetery to Sheridan Boulevard. It then went straight west to Morrison.

The plan early on was to make Hampden across-town freeway along the south metro suburbs to Interstate 25. Work began on grade separations at major intersections. The bypass under Broadway in Englewood was first, in 1955. A new bridge across the Platte was done in 1960 – upgraded in 1985 – and the intersection at Federal was grade-separated in 1961 with a new alignment parallel to Old Hampden. Raleigh Street and Sheridan Boulevard were bridged a year later, with Pierce and Wadsworth grade-separated in 1964.

Kipling Street was bridged in 1967. By this time, plans to make Hampden a full freeway across town were in the mix with the proposed partial beltway, Interstate 470. After Gov. Richard Lamm campaigned against the beltway, the state formed a commission to study transportation in the southwest metro area.

An alternative to I-470 in that 1975 study was to use Hampden as a freeway instead. One alignment had traffic coming from Interstate 70 on a diagonal to Hampden and Simms Street, then east to I-25. Another used I-70 to Sixth Avenue, then on a freeway connection down Kipling Street to Hampden and east.

Another alternative had the freeway running along Belleview Avenue.

Those were rejected in favor of today’s C-470, on the same alignment as the defunct I-470.

You can read about the brouhaha over I-470 and southwest metro freeway alignments at Matt Salek’s Highways of Colorado web site.

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

The Colorado Department of Transportation says it will reopen two lanes of Interstate 70 through the damaged rockslide area in Glenwood Canyon by the end of the day Thursday after geologists blasted down a huge boulder and surrounding rock that threatened to fall onto the highway.

However, the opening won’t bring relief to truckers with wide loads. Due to the narrow lanes through the work zone, the two-lane traffic will include a restriction on vehicles wider than 14 feet, according to Fleet Owner.com.

CDOT said Wednesday night that the blasting effort succeeded in splitting a boulder that looked like it might come down from the same area where an early Monday morning rockslide heavily damaged the I-70 bridge deck outside the Hanging Lake Tunnels and closed the highway.

Along with the 20-foot-diameter boulder, other loose rock in the area also came down onto the highway in the blast, and the good news is that means CDOT’s rock scaling crews won’t have to ascend the canyon wall again on Thursday to pick remaining loose rock.

But with all the rock tumbling down, maintenance crews have heavy cleanup work to do and significant roadway repair before the highway, now in its fourth day of being closed, can take traffic again.

CDOT doesn’t yet have a set time for the reopening, but said it would happen sometime late Thursday.

CDOT photo shows most of the debris cleared from the bridge deck, with two gaping holes in the westbound lanes and median area. The eastbound lanes, nearest to the camera, will be repaired first to allow two-lane traffic to resume.

The large boulder was blasted around 6 p.m.

The emergency started early Monday morning, just after midnight Sunday, when large rocks came down onto the I-70 viaduct west of the ramps to and from the Hanging Lake Rest Area. The slide punctured about a half dozen holes and divots in the bridge deck. At this location, the highway is up against the north wall of the canyon but is elevated on a the viaduct as it curves eastward toward the twin portals of Hanging Lake Tunnels across the Colorado River on the south side of the canyon.

The highway crosses the Colorado River and Union Pacific Railroad, just west of the Shoshone Dam. The debris was scattered over about a 300-foot length of highway.

Gov. Bill Ritter declared the situation a disaster on Monday, allowing the state to go after assistance from the Federal Highway Administration to help pay for repairs.

It is close to the same area where an early morning Thanksgiving rockslide in 2004 did much the same type of damage. Then, CDOT was able to get two lanes of traffic reopened in 31 hours but it had to restrict long trailer trucks for two months while full repairs were made and all four lanes reopened.

In this case, the bridge deck damage was more significant and extends into the eastbound lanes, making it more difficult to use them as a detour. CDOT plans to use emergency contracting to hire a company to make the full repairs.

Scroll around this Google Street View interactive view outside the west portals of Hanging Lake Tunnels to see the cliffs from which the rocks fell.

View Larger Map

Wednesday morning, CDOT used a helicopter to drop off drilling equipment and a generator for the drilling and blasting operations on the unstable boulder. Crews worked on Tuesday to try to bring the boulder down but ran out of daylight up on the cliffs.

“A team of six hiked up 900 feet on the mountainside (on Tuesday) and conducted rock scaling operations (removing loose rock material with pry bars and other equipment) until approximately 5:30 p.m.” CDOT said in a statement. “They were able to safely access the unstable rock needing to be brought down. Losing daylight, crews attempted to pry sections loose and locate areas in which to effectively place and then charge explosives, but were unable to do so.”

In the meantime, with I-70 closed between Dotsero and Glenwood Springs, a detour of up to 150 miles remained in place for cross-state traffic in the I-70 corridor. I-70 in Glenwood Canyon has average daily traffic of 19,800 vehicles a day, according to CDOT traffic counts.

Some of the boulders were the size of semi-tractors and were broken up with explosives before being moved out of the road. One weighed 66 tons. One hole in the westbound lanes was estimated to be 10 by 20 feet, said CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane. In the eastbound lanes, there was a six-by-six-foot hole.

There might have been a foreshadowing of the slide earlier in the weekend. Motorist Chuck Hickey was headed toward the canyon westbound on Saturday morning when he heard a radio traffic report that I-70 westbound was closed at mile marker 125, the exact location of today’s slide, due to rocks. Because Vail Pass was closed by an accident, Hickey detoured at Copper Mountain to Leadville on CO 91, then took U.S. 24 over Tennessee Pass to I-70 at Minturn.

“I had KOA on and they reported it,” Hickey reported on Facebook. “Said it was westbound I-70 closed at MM 125. But when I got back onto I-70 at Minturn, they no longer were reporting it and when I went through there, there were no trucks or anything. But people in Leadville were talking about it when I stopped.”

CDOT has an operations center inside the Hanging Lake Tunnels that is staffed around the clock to manage traffic. Read an article about the center here.

I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is an internationally acclaimed stretch of roadway that won award for its context-sensitive design and construction. Because of the high unstable cliffs, there are areas prone to rockslides. Read this comprehensive photo-filled feature about the history of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon at Matt Salek’s Highways of Colorado site.