Traffic Realignment to Cause Delays on I-25 Near Sports Authority Field Tonight and Tomorrow Night

December 3, 2012 - Denver Metro Colorado/CDOT Region 6 - DENVER - Tonight, December 3 and tomorrow night, December 4, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will realign northbound I-25 between Colfax Avenue and 23rd Avenue as part of an ongoing bridge replacement project.

The work will require three lanes of northbound I-25 to be closed tonight and three lanes of southbound I-25 to be closed tomorrow night. The triple lane closures will begin at 11 p.m. each night and continue until 5 a.m. the following day. Single lane closures will begin at 7 p.m. each night. Major delays are expected and alternate routes are advised.

“We have completed the center portion of the new bridge and need to realign northbound I-25 traffic onto this newly constructed portion in order to demolish and reconstruct the northbound structure,” said CDOT Project Engineer Chris Paiz. “Northbound I-25 will remain in this configuration for approximately three months while we demolish the existing northbound structure and construct the new one.”

In addition to the lane closures on I-25, the following closures will be in place for the remainder of the week as well as next week:

  • Various on and off-ramps at I-25 and Colfax Avenue will be closed tonight and tomorrow night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Motorists needing access to northbound I-25 will be detoured to Federal Boulevard where they will travel north to Speer Boulevard and then turn right onto Speer Boulevard where access to northbound I-25 is available. Motorists needing access to Colfax Avenue from southbound I-25 will be detoured to 8th Avenue and then onto northbound I-25 where access to Colfax Avenue is available.

  • The ramp from 23rd Avenue to southbound I-25 will be closed tomorrow night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Motorists will be detoured to Lower Colfax to southbound I-25.
  • 17th Avenue will be closed 24 hours a day until further notice to all traffic between Mile High Circle and I-25, including the on and off ramps at I-25. Detour: Traffic will be detoured to Mile High Stadium Circle to Colfax to Zuni to 8th Avenue to northbound I-25. Northbound I-25 traffic accessing 17th Avenue will be detoured to the 23rd Avenue exit to Mile High Circle then south to 17th Avenue.
  • Walnut Street at Lower Colfax will be closed 24 hours a day until further notice. A detour route will be in place for trail users.

Delays are expected throughout the week and alternate routes are strongly advised.  CDOT would like to remind motorists to plan ahead, obey all construction signs and flaggers and to “Slow for the Cone Zone.”  Fines for most infractions that occur in the work zone will be doubled.

The work is part of a bridge replacement project on I-25 between Colfax Avenue and 23rd Avenue.  The project replaces the I-25 bridges over the South Platte River, also known as the Bronco Arch Bridge.  The existing bridges were originally constructed in 1951 and are in poor condition.  The entire project is scheduled to be complete by the end of August 2013.

Lawrence Construction Co. is the contractor for this $16.3 million project, which is being funded with federal and state funds.

For more information about this project, visit http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/I-25SouthPlatte.  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 “I-25 over the South Platte” project listed under “Projects.”