The Loveland Reporter-Herald reports that the new design for the city’s most visible gateway on Interstate 25 leaves intact most of the features of the original one, including extensive landscaping, monuments and an arch-topped bridge carrying U.S. 34 across I-25.

It is slightly different from a proposal last fall that was withdrawn as the economy tanked. The design is subject to approval by the Centerra Metropolitan District and the Loveland City Council, both of which seem assured, work on the $2.9 million plan will begin this spring, and extensive landscape plantings can be done next spring.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Work at the Interstate 25/Crossroads Boulevard interchange may soon take a historic turn as officials expect to unearth fossils buried deep within sandstone at the site, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports.

The fossil finds are thought to be first uncovered on a city of Loveland roadway project in recent memory.

Frank Hempen, city of Loveland director for the $6.5 million project, this week said fossil samples already have been recovered during preliminary work at the Northwest quadrant of the interchange.

Read the entire article at the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Efforts to improve safety at the Interstate 25/U.S. Highway 34 interchange hit another roadblock this week as the Loveland City Council continued negotiations with McWhinney over funding for the project, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports.

During its regular Tuesday meeting, the City Council was asked to accept an $8.7 million bid from New Design Construction of Denver to begin safety improvements at the aged interchange.

Instead, the council steered clear of a vote on the bid until city officials and McWhinney representatives agree on the use of about $2.5 million left over since New Design’s proposal came in below the estimated $12 million cost for the project.

Along the innovative lines of installing roundabouts in Loveland 10 years ago to solve traffic congestion, city engineers are considering another out-of-the-ordinary solution, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports.

It’s called a continuous flow intersection, or CFI, which the city may build at Madison Avenue and Eisenhower Boulevard next summer to quicken the pace of left-turning vehicles and east-west traffic.

A CFI eliminates left-turn arrows by moving left-turning vehicles to the left side of the road – on the other side of oncoming traffic – about 300 feet before the intersection.

Transit managers from Loveland and Fort Collins are planning to ask their respective city councils to investigate creating a regional transit provider, saying they believe they could save money and provide better service by combining forces, according to a story in the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “All we’re looking at in the plan is investigating the feasibility,” Transfort Assistant General Manager Kurt Ravenschlag said. Ravenschlag said Transfort saw 15 percent ridership growth in 2008, and COLT manager Marcy Abreo said the Loveland agency is seeing similar increases. Transfort carried 1.8 million passengers last year; COLT carried 125,000.