Girder Installation to Close I-25 at 84th Avenue Tonight and Tomorrow Night

Lane closures will begin at 7 p.m. each night with the full closure of I-25 beginning at 9 p.m.  All lanes of I-25 and 84^th Avenue will reopen by 5:30 a.m. the following day.  In addition, the northbound I-25 HOV/tolled Express Lane will be closed approaching 84^th Avenue starting at 8 p.m.

“We will install 14 girders over northbound and southbound I-25 for the northern portion of the 84^th Avenue bridge over I-25,” said CDOT Project Engineer Bryan Kalliokoski.  “This will be one of several full closures of I-25 over the next year that will be required to complete the construction of the new bridge.”

During the closure, motorists on I-25 will be detoured via the on and off-ramps at 84^th Avenue.  While 84^th Avenue will be open to traffic, motorists will not be able to make left turns onto 84^th Avenue from I-25 or onto I-25 from 84^th Avenue. In addition, only one lane of 84^th Avenue will be open in each direction.

Major delays are possible on I-25 and 84^th Avenue and alternate routes are strongly advised.  Motorists can take either Huron Street or Washington Street to 104^th Avenue to avoid the construction zone.  CDOT would like to remind motorists to obey all construction signs and flaggers and to “Slow for the Cone Zone.”

This work is part of a project that replaces the 84^th Avenue bridge over I-25.  The original bridge was constructed in 1959 and is one of Colorado’s poor bridges. The new bridge will be wider to accommodate an additional left turn lane from eastbound 84^th Avenue to northbound I-25. In addition, there will be 10-foot sidewalks on each side of the bridge to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Zak Dirt, Inc. is the contractor for this $8 million project scheduled to be complete by the end of October 2012. The majority of the project is being funded by Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery (FASTER), which is dedicated to improving safety and replacing poor bridges.  The City of Thornton is funding the architectural enhancements such as the decorative lighting and bridge monuments.

For more information about the project, visit the project website at http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/84thAve_I25.  To receive e-mail updates about the project, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the icon in the upper right-hand corner.  The link will take you to a list of items you can subscribe to including the “84^th Avenue over I-25” project listed under “Projects.”