Eastern Southeast Colorado Culvert Repairs
About the Project
The project locations include:
- US 50 MP culvert references 357 to 365 are West of Rocky Ford
- US 50 MP culvert references 439 to 440 are East of Lamar
Work involves specialized trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation along US 50 and CO 196. The initiative is designed to fully restore the regional drainage systems through targeted, non-invasive engineering methods.
Operations begin with comprehensive preparatory work and debris clearing at each site. Construction crews clear dirt, dense vegetation, and structural obstacles immediately surrounding the culvert inlets and outlets to establish clear access. Following this, the existing pipes undergo high-pressure cleaning, where vacuum trucks and advanced hydro-flushing remove accumulated sediment, rocks, and rubbish to completely prepare the interior surfaces for structural modification.
The core of the project utilizes trenchless pipe relining to completely rehabilitate the culverts without interrupting regional transportation. Rather than deploying traditional open-trench excavation methods that disrupt traffic flow and severely damage the highway roadway surface, crews pull a flexible liner directly into the compromised culverts. Once positioned, this liner is mechanically inflated to eliminate creases, creating a highly smooth internal surface that optimizes water flow, completely halts subsurface soil migration, and significantly extends the asset lifespan.
The final phase introduces vital inlet, structural and drainage upgrades to reinforce the surrounding highway infrastructure. Laborers re-grade the natural terrain directly surrounding the culvert inlets to ensure approach drainage perfectly matches the baseline elevation of the pipe. Simultaneously, older, failing concrete barriers at the pipe ends are demolished and replaced with robust new headwalls and wing walls to stabilize the embankment against erosion. Finally, crews perform pressure grouting and localized concrete lining to fill hollow cavities outside the pipe caused by historical soil erosion, effectively restoring the structural safety of the highway overhead.
Project Facts
- Construction Cost: $1 million
- Contractor: Siete Contracting, Inc.
- Timeline: November 2026 to April 2027
- Location: US 50
- Nearest Towns/Cities: Rocky Ford, Lamar and Granada
- Mile Point(s): MP 357 to MP 440
- Counties: Bent, Otero and Prowers
Project Benefits
To be announced.
Work Schedule
- Daytime Work Hours: Monday through Friday
Traffic Impacts
Motorists can expect the following impacts during the period of construction:
- Operations are primarily limited to daylight hours (Monday through Friday), with equipment and lanes cleared or minimized before nightfall
- Single-Lane Alternating Closures
- Traffic will be reduced to one lane at active culvert sites
- Flaggers or temporary construction signals will guide traffic through the zone safely
- Shoulder Closures & Merges:
- Standard lane widths may be temporarily restricted
- Road shoulders will be closed around the staging zones where vacuum trucks and lining equipment are parked
- Refer to COtrip.org for real-time travel conditions and road closures
