CDOT to Reconstruct Another Section of State Highway 131 Between Steamboat Springs and Oak Creek

August 3, 2011 - HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - ROUTT COUNTY — On August 4, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin work to clear rocks and vegetation in an area where nearly three miles of State Highway (SH) 131 will be reconstructed and widened coming weeks.

The stretch is located about 10 miles south of Steamboat Springs from milepost (MP) 58, south of Chokecherry Lane, extending south to MP 55.

Major safety improvements will include flattening hills for better driver sight distance and straightening roadway curves. CDOT will also conduct a full-depth reclamation of the existing highway surface (essentially recycling the existing asphalt surface into gravel base), resurface the roadway and install new right-of-way fencing, guardrail, drainage, sign and erosion control features. Additionally, Qwest Communications will relocate fiber optic lines along this stretch of roadway.

“The SH 131/Chokecherry Lane project is a high priority in this region for safety, quality, and mobility improvements,” CDOT West Program Engineer Pete Mertes said. “This project will bring the roadway up to current design standards by improving geometrics, drainage and shoulders, as well as providing a new pavement surface. Safety will also be enhanced with rumble strips, new signing and guardrail.”

Work will be suspended for the winter sometime in October and will resume in May 2012. The entire project is scheduled for completion by November 15, 2012.

Connell Resources is the project contractor with a winning bid of $6.9 million. Since 2002, CDOT has completed three major projects to improve the safety of SH 131 (between MP 58 and MP 65) for a contracted amount of approximately $12.1 million.

TRAVEL IMPACTS: From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, motorists will encounter single-lane, alternating traffic and twenty minute delays. Qwest may perform weekend work to accelerate their construction schedule. The public will be notified of any delays or changes to the schedule.

CDOT would like to remind motorists to obey all construction signs and flaggers and to go Slow for the Cone Zone.

For project information, contact the contractor’s construction hotline at 970-879-9441. To get information on other CDOT projects statewide, call 511. If you would like to receive e-mail and/or wireless notifications for this (and other) CDOT projects, please go to CDOT’s web site at www.coloradodot.info and select the green cell phone icon in the upper right corner. Updates for this project can be selected by clicking the “Northwest Colorado” option.