Public-Private Partnership to enhance Communications in Clear Creek Canyon

May 2, 2012 - Central Eastern Colorado/CDOT Region 1 - Project requires week-long closures of Highway 6 through end of June.

JEFFERSON/CLEAR CREEK COUNTIES – The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has entered into a public/private partnership aimed at improving safety through Clear Creek Canyon by providing cell phone coverage and other services into an area where it is currently unavailable.

As part of the partnership, Crown Castle International, one of the country’s largest wireless operators, is installing fiber along U.S. 6 between Golden and Interstate 70 and along SH 119, from U.S. 6 to near Black Hawk.   Placing the new fiber requires a full closure of U.S. 6 along two different segments:

Sunday, May 6 at 11 p.m. through Friday, May 11 at 10 a.m.

U.S. 6 CLOSED between State Highway (SH) 119 and U.S. 40/Interstate 70

Detour to Black Hawk/Central City: U.S. 6 between Golden and SH 119, SH 119 between U.S. 6 and Black Hawk OR I-70 to Central City Parkway (Exit 243)

Beginning on Sunday, May 13, and continuing through Friday, June 29:

Sundays at 11 p.m. through Fridays at 10 a.m.

U.S. 6 CLOSED between Golden (U.S. 6/SH 58 & 93) and SH 119

Detour to Black Hawk/Central City: I-70 west to Exit 244, east on U.S. 6 three miles to SH 119, north on SH 119 OR I-70 to Central City Parkway (Exit 243)

PLEASE NOTE: U.S. 6 will be open to traffic each weekend, from 10 a.m. Fridays until 11 p.m. Sundays. For the Memorial Day Weekend, Highway 6 will be open from 10 a.m. Thursday, May 24, until         8 a.m. Tuesday, May 29.

In addition to providing cell phone services for the traveling public, the new fiber optic line will allow CDOT to provide a variety of other services through the canyon, as funding allows, including:

  • Electronic message signs – providing real-time information on highway conditions, including trip travel times, giving drivers estimates on how long their trip will take
  • Closed circuit cameras – allowing for real-time traffic conditions to be relayed to travelers via www.cotrip.org and other websites and locations for traveler information
  • Digital radio system – providing two-way radio services for emergency response
  • Road and Weather Information Gathering System – Supplying CDOT Maintenance with road surface information, allowing for improved road treatment during inclement weather

As part of the agreement, CDOT will own the fiber, have power provided to the equipment and share space on 32 poles along the route to install its infrastructure.  CDOT, in turn, will permit Crown Castle to use its right-of-way for placement of the shared fiber optic line. Crown will maintain the fiber line for 20 years, including repairs and emergency response to outages.  This aspect of the agreement is renewable through the partnership.

“This partnership will greatly enhance public safety as well as benefit Colorado’s taxpayers,” says CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt.  “Providing cell phone coverage into an area that’s currently a dead-zone will enhance safety by greatly improving incident response time for emergency service providers.  And, partnering with Crown Castle saves the state about $7 million, since that’s how much it would have cost us to build a similar system along both corridors, obtain power for the equipment and maintain the system.”

Updated information regarding traffic impacts on this or other CDOT projects is available at www.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html 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 US 6/SH 119 Clear Creek Canyon.