Rock Work to Impact Highway 24, West of Manitou
EL PASO COUNTY – A rock mitigation project on Ute Pass will require extended lane closures along U.S. 24 next week.
Beginning on Monday, October 17, and continuing through Friday, October 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., westbound U.S. 24 will be closed to traffic and eastbound U.S. 24 will be reduced to one lane in each direction for approximately four miles, between the Cave of the Winds Road intersection and the Pike Peak Toll Road intersection in Cascade. During this time frame, intermittent traffic stops of 15 to 30 minutes may be required as crews scale the hillside above the highway, about ½ mile west of Manitou Springs.
In addition, a full closure of U.S. 24 will be required for approximately one hour on Wednesday, October 19. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) expects the closure to occur sometime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“The scaling and mitigation is above the westbound highway segment so that side needs to be closed to traffic while we’re working to maintain safe conditions for the traveling public and work crews,” said CDOT Maintenance Foreman Gary Heller. “And we can’t have any traffic moving through the work zone in order to safely remove a large rock slab that’s about 40 feet by 20 feet so that’s why we need to close the highway down for about an hour.”
Drivers are reminded to please Slow for the Cone Zone and plan on extra travel time since traffic will be reduced to a single lane in each direction and the speed limit reduced to 35 mph. Bicyclists and vehicles wider than12 feet also will not be allowed through the area during work hours.
Yenter Companies, Inc. of Arvada, CO., is the contractor for the $26,000 project.
Updated information regarding traffic impacts on this or other CDOT projects is available at www.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures or by calling 511. To receive project updates via e-mail, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including Southeast Colorado.
