In a recent bridge inspection that took place earlier this week, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) bridge engineers determined that portions of the northbound I-25 bridge deck over Santa Fe Drive need to be rehabilitated due to deteriorating concrete.
The repairs include removing the existing asphalt, removing the deteriorated concrete, replacing the bridge deck with new concrete, paving, and striping. The majority of the repairs will take place in the right lane of northbound I-25 with additional work taking place in the other lanes of northbound I-25 over Santa Fe Drive.
The Littleton Independent reports that the Colorado Department of Transportation will soon install concrete barriers known as “Jersey” barriers between the north and southbound lanes from Aspen Grove Way to Vinewood Street.
The safety project in the 50-mph section will help prevent head-on collisions, CDOT says. The project is scheduled to begin this summer, according to Nashat Sawaged, an engineer with CDOT.
The beefed-up late fees that came with last year’s FASTER bill made a lot of procrastinating motorists angry but they have also had a much quieter and positive effect. More and more people are registering their vehicles on time rather than letting their expired registrations lag.
CDOT will reopen US 34 in Big Thompson Canyon Wednesday night after SEMA Construction was able to complete replacement of one of two bridges ahead of schedule. The old bridge had been the worst-rated bridge in the entire state highway system.
CDOT Traffic Alert
Clear Creek County – The Colorado Department of Transportation will be stopping traffic in both directions of I-70 for 20 minutes at a time this week for rock-scaling operations at Georgetown Hill. Traffic will be stopped on I-70 westbound at Georgetown and eastbound at Silver Plume between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Tuesday though Thursday (February 5-7). Please note, traffic may be held for up to 20 minutes at a time.
Motorists should expect delays during this time period and are encouraged to plan accordingly. CDOT apologizes for any inconvenience caused by this important safety project.
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.
Crumbling concrete bridge rail typifies conditions on Colorado’s poor-rated bridges.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is considering issuing bonds to speed up the replacement and repair of poor-rated bridges under the FASTER program.
A bond program could enable CDOT’s new Bridge Enterprise – set up to take over ownership, repair, replacement and maintenance of poor-rated bridges – to take on more of the 124 structures on the list that a pay-as-you-go schedule. While bond interest adds to the total cost down the line, financing is often able to beat the higher prices that inflation can bring while waiting until cash is in hand for the work.
In the meantime, accelerating the work puts more people to work in the near-term.
The Pueblo Chieftain reports that Rep. Buffie McFadyen got a bill through committee Thursday that would require the state to document and report to the Legislature on fatal traffic accidents in highway construction work zones.
McFadyen’s bill would require the Colorado Department of Transportation to report on whether those killed were CDOT employees or contractors and any measures CDOT implements to avoid recurring fatalities.
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.
Meet the first bridge expected to be replaced with your increased auto registration fees under the FASTER program — a 1938 vintage steel through-truss on CO 69 in Huerfano County, rated poor with a 26.9 out of 100 for structural deficiency. Bid-taking may be authorized by CDOT next week.
FASTER is proving to be slower at raising the projected revenue for fixing Colorado’s poor-rated bridges.
While initially expected to raise $50.6 million this year for the new Bridge Enterprise Fund through a newly imposed registration fee of $9 per average passenger vehicle earmarked for bridge repairs, the FASTER fees have come in more slowly than anticipated and are now projected to raise $45.6 million this year — a nine-percent drop from expectations.
But through December, FASTER’s $9 bridge safety fee collected $19,584,785 in six months.
As a result, even as CDOT prepares to authorize a bid solicitation on the first FASTER bridge project, in Huerfano County, it appears less likely than before that it can work on all 17 candidate bridges it selected for the first year’s list.
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