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Mary Carter Greenway Trail Updates

The Mary Carter Greenway Trail will have intermittent FULL CLOSURES under the South Platte River Bridge for the replacement of the existing east and westbound bridges as part of the C-470 Express Lanes Project.

During times of FULL CLOSURES, notification will be given HERE.

When the Mary Carter Greenway Trail is closed at the South Platte River Bridges, follow the posted detour signs. The western detour is approximately 3.2 miles, which is 0.3 miles longer than original route. The eastern detour is approximately 3 miles, which is 1 mile shorter than original route.

Western Detour: Follow the Columbine Trail along Chatfield Avenue and Platte Canyon Road. Take the Mineral Trail along Mineral Avenue to connect back onto the Mary Carter Greenway Trail. This detour is approximately 3.2 miles, which is 0.3 miles longer than the original route.

Eastern Detour: Follow the Highline Canal Trail to Southpark Lane. Take the Mineral Avenue Trail. After crossing Santa Fe Drive, continue on the Railroad Spur Trail onto Mary Carter Greenway Trail. This detour is approximately 3 miles, which is 1 mile shorter than the original route.  

Unless noted above, the trail will be open and available to use. While work is being performed under the South Platte River Bridges and when a full closure is not required, flaggers may be present to guide trail users safely through the work zone. Please be cautious and obey flagger instructions.

C-470 Express Lanes

What's Happening Around the Project:

Wall Progress - Work continues on the construction of retaining walls between Lucent and the South Platte River. The most recent being near the westbound C-470 Broadway off-ramp and eastbound C-470 near the South Platte River.

Construction of noise walls is expected to begin between Lucent and Broadway in the near future. Residents in this area had the opportunity to vote whether or not they wanted the walls. Residents eligible to receive a wall in the area between Wadsworth and Santa Fe are also being contacted to cast their noise wall vote. 

C-470 Trail Work Continues - C-470 Trail reconstruction continues with the placement of new concrete pavement on the trail in various locations between Quebec and Broadway. Temporary asphalt pavement has been added in some areas to detour the many bicyclists and pedestrians who utilize the trail. At times flaggers have been positioned along the trail to assist users as they make their way onto the detour. The final result of the C-470 Trail improvement will include a new trail underpass at both Colorado and Quebec so users will no longer have to cross those busy intersections, but will be able to safely pass underneath them. 

Frequent Night Time Ramp Closures - Travelers have been experiencing frequent night time ramp closures. The closures mostly occur between 8:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. These closures are necessary for striping operations, maintenance, and setting of temporary barrier. The detours are usually approximately 3 miles round trip to the next exit and back. 

Reconstruction of the South Platte River Bridges and Widening of the Erickson Bridges - Work on the new South Platte River Bridges has begun. In mid-July crews installed a water diversion on the east side of the river in preparation for bridge foundation work. Construction is also taking place on the west side of the river along the Mary Carter Greenway Trail. When needed, flaggers have been placed to guide trail users through the construction zone. The South Platte River bridges are the only bridges being fully reconstructed with the C-470 project.

The Erickson Bridge is the next bridge scheduled for widening and is expected to start later this summer.

University, Broadway, and Big Dry Creek Bridges - Crews continue work on bridge rail demolition and associated work required to complete the widening of the University, Broadway, and Big Dry Creek bridges. Concrete is expected to be poured on these bridge decks soon. Closure information will be disseminated through the usual methods. 

Wadsworth to Santa Fe - Activity between Wadsworth and Santa Fe continues to increase with the extension of the construction zone advanced warning signage, grading operations, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) backbone conduit installation and preparation for replacement of the South Platte River Bridges. 

Lucent to Quebec - Construction continues between Lucent and Quebec including trail reconstruction, temporary barrier and restriping, earthwork and drainage operations, detour paving, retaining wall construction, and ITS work along the outside shoulders of east and westbound C-470. 

Photo of the Week: Concrete being pumped across the South Platte River for the new bridge foundation.

Activities and Lane Closure for 8/17/17-8/26/17*

Daytime Lane Closures

  • Friday (8/11) 9am-3pm: Eastbound and westbound C-470 Broadway on-ramps and University on-ramps partial closure for temporary ramp widening and meter work.
  • Friday (8/18) 9am-3pm: Westbound C-470 Broadway on-ramp left lane closure and eastbound and westbound C-470 University on-ramp partial closures for temporary ramp widening.
  • Friday (8/18) 9am-1pm and Saturday (8/19) 9am-11am: Southbound University single left lane closure for bridge construction.
  • Friday (8/18) 8am-3:30pm: Southbound Colorado right lane closure for noise wall construction.
  • Friday (8/18) 8am-3:30pm: Northbound and southbound Lucent alternating single right and left lane closures for ITS potholing and boring.

  • Sunday (8/20) – Friday (8/25) 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Westbound C-470 Broadway on-ramp left lane closure for temporary ramp widening and meter work.

    Sunday (8/20) – Friday (8/25) 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Eastbound and westbound C-470 University on-ramp partial closures for temporary ramp widening and meter work.

    Monday (8/21) – Friday (8/25) 9 a.m. – 1 pm. – Southbound University single left lane closure for bridge construction.

    Monday (8/21) – Friday (8/25) 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Southbound Colorado right lane closure for noise wall construction.

    Monday (8/21) – Friday (8/25) 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Northbound and southbound Lucent alternating right and left lane closures for ITS potholing and boring.

Nighttime Lane Closures

  • Friday (8/18) 7pm-5:30am: Eastbound and westbound C-470 alternating right and left single lane closures for setting of temporary barrier, median prepping, equipment mobilization, median widening earthwork, and bridge construction.
  • Friday (8/18) 7pm-5am: Northbound and southbound Broadway alternating double left and right lane with sidewalk closures for bridge deck edge demo. Northbound and southbound University alternating double left and right lane with sidewalk closures for bridge construction.
  • Thursday (8/17) 10pm-5am: Eastbound C-470 between University and Quebec FULL CLOSURE for overhead sign structure removal.**
  • Thursday (8/17) 8pm-5am: Eastbound C-470 University on-ramp FULL CLOSURE for overhead sign structure removal.**
  • Friday (8/18) 8pm-5:30am: Eastbound C-470 Quebec off-ramp FULL CLOSURE for temporary ramp widening.**
  • Sunday (8/20)-Thursday (8/24) 7pm-5:30am and Friday (8/25) 7pm-8am: Eastbound and westbound C-470 alternating right and left single lane closures for setting of temporary barrier, median prepping, equipment mobilization, median widening earthwork, and bridge construction.
  • Sunday (8/20)-Friday(8/25) 7pm-5am: Northbound and southbound Broadway alternating double left and right lane with sidewalk closures for bridge deck edge demo. Northbound and southbound University alternating double left and right lane with sidewalk closures for bridge construction.
  • Thursday (8/24) 8pm-5:30am: Westbound C-470 University off-ramp full closure for setting temporary barrier and ramp widening construction.
  • Friday (8/25) 10pm-5am: Westbound C-470 Lucent off-ramp full closure for profile grinding.
  • Friday (8/25) 10pm-8am: Traffic switch between Santa Fe and University on EB C-470.

Note: The traffic control supervisor determines if closures need to be adjusted to provide a safe method of handling traffic conditions if curves, hills, etc. are present. *All lane closures are weather dependent. **Be sure to follow posted detour signs during ramp full closures.

See a brief overview of the April 2017 open house.

Project Overview

The C-470 Express Lanes project will increase mobility and user choice along 12.5 miles of C-470 between I-25 and Wadsworth Boulevard. The $276 million project includes the following improvements:

  • Mobility Improvements:
    • Two additional westbound Express Lanes constructed from I-25 to Colorado Boulevard, and one additional Express Lane from Colorado Boulevard to Wadsworth.
    • One additional eastbound Express Lane constructed along the length of the project, between I-25 and Wadsworth Boulevard.
  • Additional safety and infrastructure improvements:
    • full reconstruction of existing pavement
    • new auxiliary lanes at selected locations
    • on- and off-ramp improvements
    • realignment of substandard curves
    • widening of existing bridges
    • replacing the bridges over the South Platte River

Funding

The project is funded by $110.6 million in combined state and federal funding, and $10 million from Douglas County. The remainder will be funded via a loan repaid by toll revenues from the Express Lanes.

About Express Lanes

The C-470 Express Lanes project will add Express Lanes in addition to the existing, free general-purpose lanes. Drivers will always have a choice of using the free existing lanes or paying a toll to use the Express Lane.

There will be no HOV/carpool lanes within the C-470 corridor.

Express Lanes increase roadway capacity and help to manage congestion on highways. The use of toll pricing during peak travel times reduces delays, manages congestion and maintains reliable travel times. Express Lanes are currently open on:

For more information, visit CDOT's Express Lanes website. 

You can also find lane closure information any time.

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