I-25 Improvement Project Set to Start

March 3, 2011 - Southeastern Colorado/CDOT Region 2 - HUERFANO/LAS ANIMAS COUNTIES – A Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) paving and bridge project begins next week on Interstate 25 between Walsenburg and Trinidad.

Work is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 7, and includes rotomilling and asphalt paving, rehabilitation of numerous bridges, new guard rails, ramp widening and curve softening.

Project hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.  The speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph and vehicles wider than 14 feet will be prohibited from traveling through the area when work is taking place.

Fourteen bridges will be rehabilitated during the first two months of the project, work that involves upgrading the decks, installation of new expansion joints and bridge rails.  Single lane closures will be in place on various structures during work hours on northbound and/or southbound I-25 between Hoehne and Ludlow, and between Rugby Road and the Cucharas River near Walsenburg.

Along with the bridge work, the shoulder on the ramp from State Highway 10 to northbound I-25 will be widened, improving safety and providing additional room for large trucks to turn onto the ramp.

Beginning in early to mid-May, rotomilling and paving operations are scheduled to begin.  In addition to resurfacing, minor reconstruction will soften the curves on I-25 near the Huerfano/Las Animas county line.

“Since there’ll be numerous locations where traffic is reduced to a single lane for the duration of the project, drivers should plan on a little extra travel time since the speed limit will be reduced significantly,” says CDOT Project Engineer Scott Dalton.  “It’s extremely important for traffic to slow down in order to maintain a safe environment for both for the traveling public and the construction crews.”

The $8.8 million project is scheduled for completion in August 2011.   APC Southern Construction Company of Golden, Colo., is the prime contractor.

Traffic information about this or other CDOT projects is on the cotrip.org website, by calling 511 or via subscription e-mail.  To subscribe, please visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner.  The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including Southeast Colorado (Everything East of I-25 and South of I-70).