The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports that the ramp from northbound Interstate 25 to Crossroads Boulevard will be completely closed from 7 a.m. Monday until 5 p.m. Friday, weather permitting, as part of the ongoing construction at this interchange.

The Colorado Department of Transportation will close southbound Interstate 25 through Trinidad on Sunday night, Feb. 28, for construction of the adjacent bridge over the Purgatoire River. Beginning at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28, southbound I-25 will be closed at Colorado Avenue (Exit 14B). Traffic will detour west to Colorado Avenue, south on Nevada Avenue to Santa Fe Trail, returning to I-25 at Exit 11. Southbound I-25 will reopen to traffic by 6 a.m. on Monday, March 1.

The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that construction has begun on the $8.5 million redesigned interchange of Interstate 25 and U.S. 34 in Loveland. New Design Construction Co. of Denver is expected to take 10 months to complete the work.

CDOT Press Release

The bridge demolition scheduled for tonight at I-25 and 104th Avenue has been canceled again due to weather and all lanes of northbound and southbound I-25 will remain open tonight. But demolition of the old 104th Avenue bridge is now tentatively scheduled for Sunday and Monday overnights. All lanes of northbound and southbound I-25 will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on those nights, and motorists will be detoured via the on and off-ramps at 104th Avenue.

CDOT Press Release

Last week, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed the first phase of the bridge replacement project at I-25 and 104th Avenue. With the northern portion of the new bridge now complete, westbound 104th Avenue has been realigned to the north and construction is starting on the center portion of the new bridge this week with bridge demolition.

“A third of the new bridge is now complete so it is time to demolish the center portion of the existing bridge and construct the center portion of the new bridge,” said CDOT Resident Engineer John Schwab. “To complete the bridge demolition, we will completely close I-25 near 104th Avenue over the next three nights. We strongly encourage motorists to seek alternate routes as there will be major delays.”

The bridge demolition will take place Tuesday, January 5th through Thursday, January 7th. Each night, all lanes of northbound and southbound I-25 near 104th Avenue will be closed at 9 p.m. and will reopen by 5:30 a.m. the following day. During the full closure of I-25, motorists will be detoured via the on and off ramps at 104th Avenue. No left turns onto 104th Avenue will be allowed during the closure. Uniformed traffic control will be used to direct motorists through the interchange.

Major delays are expected and alternate routes are strongly advised. CDOT would like to remind motorists to obey all traffic signs and flaggers and to “Slow for the Cone Zone.”

The existing 104th Avenue bridge over I-25 was originally constructed in 1962 and is one of Colorado’s structurally deficient bridges. When complete, the new bridge will accommodate an additional left turn lane from eastbound 104th Avenue to northbound I-25. For more information on the project visit http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/I25104th.

Hamon Contractors, Inc. is the contractor for this $6.5 million project scheduled to be complete by the end of September 2010. CDOT is funding the bridge replacement and the Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority (NURA) is funding the aesthetic improvements which will include upgraded bridge rail and upgraded bridge lighting similar to the existing lighting on the 112th Avenue overpass bridge. Aesthetic improvements also include cornerstone monuments at the four ends of the bridge and “Northglenn” monument signage mounted to an upgraded retaining wall.

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Google Maps Street View shows northbound I-25 approaching Sixth Avenue, the No. 1 accident location in the city in November.

The Valley Highway is the pits for drivers and accidents.

Eight of the Top 10 accident locations in Denver for November were on the busiest freeway through the city – Interstate 25, known colloquially as the Valley Highway, it’s name when it was built in the 1950s.

In fact, the five most frequent accident spots on I-25 have been a constant presence on the list each month this year, and I-25 commuters should be no strangers to them – The Mousetrap, 20th Street, Sixth Avenue, Alameda Avenue and Santa Fe Drive.

CDOT Press Release

The Colorado Department of Transportation and the Town of Castle Rock celebrated the completion of the Interstate 25/Plum Creek Interchange reconstruction project at a grand opening ceremony today.

“Marking the completion of this project today is a tribute to cooperation and teamwork,” said Colorado Transportation Commissioner Gary Reiff. “Initial discussions between CDOT and Castle Rock began in 2002 about making this important upgrade to the transportation infrastructure of the area and now, by working together, we’ve enhanced the traffic movements throughout the area for the citizens of Castle Rock, Douglas County and for those who use I-25.”

Construction began in May 2008 to widen northbound and southbound I-25 from two to three lanes between 5th Street and Douglas Lane. A new I-25/Plum Creek Parkway Interchange also was constructed and now is fully aligned with Plum Creek Parkway, which was widened and straightened west of Wilcox Street. In addition, a small portion of the East Plum Creek Trail was built, which is part of the Colorado Front Range Trail.

“The new road gives residents another way to get to and from the interstate and downtown,” said Castle Rock Mayor Randy Reed, “and the reconstructed interchange makes the area more attractive and easier to navigate.”

Funding for the $30 million project was shared by CDOT ($20 million) and Castle Rock ($10 million). Work included a number of improvements by Castle Rock, as part of its Transportation Action Plan. Information is available at: www.crgov.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=8

To minimize environmental impacts through the area, the banks of East Plum Creek will be re-graded and enhanced in the spring. It includes planting 112 additional trees, 850 bushes and other vegetation.

“We’ve accomplished our goal of maximizing capacity and enhancing safety through this area by widening I-25 and completely rebuilding the Plum Creek Parkway Interchange,” said CDOT Regional Transportation Director Tony DeVito. “It’s an area that will continue to see significant population growth so upgrading the primary transportation corridor between Denver and Colorado Springs was vital.”

The primary CDOT contractor was Edward Kraemer and Sons Inc., of Plain, WI.

The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that recent dry weather has helped work progress smoothly on two Interstate 25 interchange projects.

Crews have started pouring concrete for new ramps at I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard, and pre-construction site work has begun for work just south at the I-25 interchange at U.S. 34.

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

Roadgeeks like to name things.

Today we’re going to try to hang a name on something.

I’m proposing that we give a household name to the interchange in the Denver Tech Center where Interstate 225 dumps into Interstate 25. I say we call it the Full House. That’s the name that fellow roadgeek Duncan Shaw, a news producer at CBS4 Denver, proposed for it in 2001.

Read more to see why…

RTD intends to reinstate the G Line light rail, its only suburb-to-suburb rapid transit service, after it builds a 2.3-mile extension to the Southeast Corridor tracks into Lone Tree as part of the FasTracks program.

The line, which was eliminated earlier this year due to low ridership, would merit resumed service because in conjunction with the light rail extension up the Interstate 225 Corridor through Aurora, it would link the growing Fitzsimons medical campus on Colfax Avenue with the growing Douglas County area around Lone Tree and the RidgeGate area, including Sky Ridge Medical Center.

In between it would make stops at Aurora City Center, Parker Road, the Denver Tech Center, Park Meadows and the entire southeast business corridor. The operating plan is outlined in an environmental evaluation of the estimated $184.3 million Southeast Corridor Extension.