Three Separate Projects Get Underway in Glenwood Canyon Next Week

December 2, 2011 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - Work zones will affect travel briefly through - and on either side of - Hanging Lake Tunnel.

GLENWOOD CANYON – The Colorado Department of Transportation will start three separate projects next week that will improve safety and communications, but slow traffic for a little while. Delays will be minor, and motorists can expect the following:

Monday, December 5, Bridge joint repair – CDOT maintenance crews will repair a bridge joint just east of the tunnel. Eastbound traffic near mile marker 126 will be reduced to a single lane during the day – for one day only.

Tuesday & Wednesday (Dec 6-7), Variable Message Sign Installation – Crews from contractor Sturgeon Electric Company will complete their project that has upgraded electronic Variable Message Signs (VMS) in three locations (see below for further details). From 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on these days, there will be a single lane of traffic flowing in each direction through Hanging Lake Tunnel’s eastbound bore. The speed limit will be reduced to 25 mph and motorists are urged to drive slowly and carefully at merge points on either side of the tunnel.

Tuesday, December 6, through late January (or sooner), rockfall fence repair – Crews from contractor Yenter Companies will make repairs to the rockfall fence just west of the tunnel and conduct some minor rock scaling (bringing rocks down by hand).  Through mid- to late-January, motorists traveling westbound will encounter a single-lane closure between mile markers 121 and 124, Monday through Friday, from about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Work completed on Sturgeon Electric’s VMS upgrades project (contract amount: $556,425):

  • Westbound US 40 north side of Rabbit Ears Pass (milepost 140.): Crews installed solar-powered flashing beacons on existing signage at eight locations on the westbound side between MP 141 MP 146, the north side of the pass. These beacons alert truck drivers to warning signs, including STEEP GRADES and ESCAPE RAMP signs.
  • Westbound SH 82 at Snowmass Canyon (milepost 30.72): Work involved removal and replacement of signs at four westbound (down-valley) locations between MP 30.76 and MP 29.78. The four signs include the replacement of a static blank-out sign (Icy/Conditions/May/Exist) with a electronic variable speed limit sign; and replacing an existing (static) speed limit sign with a road weather information system station (at a parking area near MP 29.79) that includes a CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) camera and road surface sensors. These road surface sensors, which are mounted on the weather station tower, detect roadway surface condition, including temperature, moisture, etc. Then, the weather station sends a wireless signal back to a VMS board at MP 30.4 (for westbound travelers at the up-valley end of Snowmass Canyon), as well as to a variable speed limit sign near MP 30.7. Dependent upon conditions, the VMS will then communicate a warning to travelers, and the variable speed limit sign will show a lowered speed limit (down to 30 or 40 mph from 50 mph, if necessary). New guardrail was also installed to protect the VMS board
  • Westbound I-70 at Glenwood Canyon (milepost 124.97): Crews have removed and are replacing two “blank-out” warning signs with two new electronic VMS boards just west of Hanging Lake Tunnel (near MP 125). A microwave vehicle radar speed detector has also been installed at this location. If a driver is traveling above the posted speed limit, this sign will detect that and show the driver their traveling speed.

Thank you for going “Slow for the Cone Zone!” Updated information regarding traffic impacts on this or other CDOT projects is available at www.dot.state.co.us/TravelInfo/currentcond/ or by calling 511. To receive project updates via wireless device or e-mail, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including Northwest Colorado.