The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Flatiron Construction will be switching eastbound traffic approaching the rockfall work zone tomorrow at 1 PM. At mile marker 125—about a half mile from the current work zone, eastbound traffic will be switched to the left (inside) lane to allow crews to make bridge deck repairs in the right lane.

Eastbound traffic will then shift back to the right lane just before Hanging Lake Tunnel, where both east- and westbound traffic utilize the eastbound lanes, separated by a concrete barrier.

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.

CDOT Media Release

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Summit County Citizens Voice reports that state Sen. Dan Gibbs is pressing ahead with a pair of new laws aimed at easing despite some misgivings on the part of law enforcement officers.

“I think people want action,” Gibbs said, explaining that a measure requiring heavy trucks to stay in the slow lane on steep grades is straight-forward and aimed at three specific areas along the I-70 corridor: Floyd Hill, the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel approaches and Vail Pass.

Senate Bill 173 has been assigned to the transportation committee and hasn’t faced any votes yet.

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 Vail Daily reports that improving the gravel road up Cottonwood Pass between Gypsum and Glenwood Springs as an alternative route to Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon would cost from $47 million to $66 million – and that’s only for the 15 miles in Eagle County to the summit. The other 10 miles into Glenwood would add to that.

The Summit County Citizens Voice reports that the Federal Highway Administration, concerned about compliance with environmental laws, has asked CDOT to rewrite the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the I-70 Mountain Corridor in a more “citizen-friendly” format.

The 2,500-page document would then be re-released toward the end of this year.

“Two weeks ago, the feds came in and said they don’t like the way it’s going with regard to NEPA,” said Penny, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act, an over-riding federal law that outlines how environmental studies are conducted and the rules for public involvement.”

Go to the Summit County Citizens Voice to see the entire item.