CDOT to Begin Resurfacing & Safety Improvement Project on SH 82 East of Carbondale

April 4, 2013 - Northwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 3 - GARFIELD/EAGLE COUNTIES – The Colorado Department of Transportation will begin a project to improve State Highway 82 east (up-valley) of Carbondale on Monday, April 15.

The project will resurface the highway between mile point (MP) 12.79 and MP 18.91, essentially from east of the SH 133 junction at Carbondale to JW Drive in El Jebel, and make safety improvements at JW drive.

The work will cost an estimated $7.1 million, with partial funding from the federal Hazard Elimination System program and also FASTER.* Old Castle SW Group, Inc., was awarded the contract for the project, which is scheduled for completion in October 2013.

The project involves the following:

Milling of existing asphalt and asphalt overlay between approximately MP 12.79 and MP 17.78
Guardrail upgrades
Roadway improvements at the intersection of SH 82 and JW Drive (MP 18) to include acceleration lanes for safer merging onto SH 82 in both directions (from JW drive on the north side and Valley Road on the south side)
37,500 linear feet of wildlife fencing between MP 15.15 and MP 18.91
8 deer guards at highway accesses (just like cattle guards, only wider)
17 escape ramps (earthen ramps up to a cut-out in the fence that provide deer and elk—trapped within the wildlife-fenced highway right of way—a better means to cross back over the fence to escape the highway and vehicles)
15 fence gates for pedestrian access

CDOT works in coordination with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife in implementing wildlife mitigation features, all with the purpose of reducing the incidence of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs).

TRAVEL IMPACTS - Traffic delays and single-lane closures can be expected from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Periods with no traffic impacts will be between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. for up-valley traffic (towards Aspen), and between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. for down-valley traffic.

*Monies collected under the FASTER Safety Fund are to be used for construction, reconstruction, or maintenance projects that the Transportation Commission, a county or municipality determine are needed to enhance the safety of a state highway, county road, or city street. For more information please see: www.coloradodot.info/projects/faster.

For information about other CDOT projects, the public may log on to CDOT’s traveler information web site at www.cotrip.org or call 511 from anywhere in the state. Better yet, sign up for email or text messaging on CDOT projects in your area by going to www.coloradodot.info and choosing the green cell phone icon in the upper right corner. Thank you for going Slow for the Cone Zone!