Median Work on US 85 to Begin Tonight Between Brighton and Fort Lupton

WELD COUNTY — Beginning today, Thursday, April 5, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will continue installing cable rail in the median of US 85 between mile marker (MM) 236 north of Brighton and MM 241 south of Fort Lupton. This is a continuation of the safety improvement project that began in the fall of 2011 but was suspended due to adverse weather conditions and lack of available materials.

“Placing the cable rail throughout the median will protect errant vehicles from driving into oncoming traffic and hitting other vehicles during an accident,” said CDOT Engineer Lou Keen. “Other highways throughout the state have similar measures in place to prevent these kinds of accidents, and we want to take as many preventative measures as we can to keep the traveling public as safe as possible.”

Work on the project will take place between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday each week. There will be alternating single lane closures on northbound and southbound US 85. Two locations require pipe work under the roadway and may require overnight lane closures to be determined at a later date. The speed limit will be reduced to 40 MPH through the work zone. CDOT would like to remind motorists to obey all road signs and flaggers, and to drive Slow for the Cone Zone.

The $1.9 million project contracted to New Design Construction Co. is funded as part of the FASTER (Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery) legislation which is dedicated to improving safety and replacing poor bridges throughout the state.

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