Bridge Deck Rehabilitation to Cause Delays This Weekend on Westbound I-70 Near Ward Road

April 13, 2011 - TRAFFIC ADVISORY - Denver Metro Colorado/CDOT Region 6 - DENVER—Starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 15th and continuing through 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 18th, one lane of westbound I-70 will be closed at Ward Road for bridge deck rehabilitation, which consists of rotomilling the existing asphalt, removing the deteriorated concrete underneath, replacing the bridge deck with new concrete, paving, and striping.

“We will be repairing the bridge decks in both directions on I-70 over Ward Road and 44^th Avenue or the next eight weekends,” said CDOT Project Engineer Steve Spencer. “Due to the extent of the work, it is impossible to complete the work during the weeknights and still keep all lanes of the highway open during the day when traffic volumes are the highest. By working weekends, we can complete the work faster and minimize the overall impacts to motorists.”

The bridge deck rehabilitation will begin on westbound I-70 over Ward Road and then move to westbound I-70 over 44^th Avenue. Once the work is complete on westbound I-70, crews will work on eastbound I-70 over 44^th Avenue and then move to eastbound I-70 over Ward Road. It is expected to take two weekends to complete one direction of one bridge, for a total of eight weekends.

During the weekend work, major delays are expected and alternate routes are strongly advised. The speed limit will be reduced to 55 during work hours only. Most fines for infractions that occur in the work zone will be doubled. CDOT would like to remind motorists to plan ahead, obey all construction signs and flaggers and “Slow for the Cone Zone.”

The bridge deck rehabilitation is part of an interchange improvement at I-70 and Ward Road that reconstructed the eastbound I-70 ramps at 44^th Avenue/Ward Road to increase merge distance. The north side of 44^th Avenue was also widened to accommodate two left turn lanes from eastbound 44^th Avenue to I-70 as well as one full continuous merge lane on 44^th Avenue between the I-70 off-ramp and Ward Road. The interchange improvements are complete, but the bridge deck rehabilitation work remains as well as some paving on I-70.

Asphalt Paving Co. is the contractor for this $8.5 million project scheduled to be complete by the end of July 2011.