I-70 Eastbound Glenwood Canyon Concrete Resurfacing Project

GARFIELD COUNTY – Work began in late March on the Colorado Department of Transportation’s concrete reconstruction project in Glenwood Canyon. The project was contracted to Interstate Highway Construction for $7.9 million and is fourth in a series of phased projects to reconstruct I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in concrete. (The first three phases have reconstructed the interstate west of Hanging Lake Tunnel—between No Name Tunnel at MP 118 and Hanging Lake Tunnel at MP 125.) Work is on target to wrap up in late June, if not earlier.

The project involves concrete reconstruction of the eastbound lanes of I-70 in Glenwood Canyon from Hanging Lake Tunnel to east of the Bair Ranch Exit (MPs 125.9 -131). Concrete reconstruction will extend the life of the highway for up to 30 years, depending on traffic volumes and weather.

Project Details – including added bridge-deck preservation: In addition to concrete reconstruction, the project involves bridge expansion joint work at two I-70 bridges (east- and westbound) and two I-70 ramp bridges (at MP 128, Bair Ranch); as well as a an asphalt milling and resurfacing at the Bair Ranch rest area parking lot. Also, the project includes a long-lasting weather-proofing surface on the eastbound bridge at Bair Ranch – it’s a polyester concrete overlay that should provide 30 years of bridge deck preservation, weather-proofing and skid resistance.

Progress Update: Crews have completed the weather-proofing of the eastbound bridge and, by this Friday, they will have completed placement of all concrete in the eastbound travel lanes. This amounts to about 24,000 linear feet (or nearly five miles) of concrete, 11-inches thick and 22 inches wide. Then, five miles of concrete shouldering will be completed on each side of the eastbound lanes. After all the concrete work is complete on the shoulders, crews will complete the asphalt tie-ins and striping so the traffic can be switched back onto the new the eastbound lanes. Crews will make every effort to get traffic switched prior to the Memorial Day holiday weekend, but this is not a certainty, and weather could play a factor. Once traffic is back on the eastbound lanes (late May or early June), westbound traffic will be reduced to a single lane at Bair Ranch. This will enable crews to complete expansion joint work on the westbound bridge at MP 128 and pave with asphalt.

Travel Impacts: Monday through Friday and some weekends during daylight hours; a single lane of travel will be maintained at all times, with both east- and westbound traffic switched onto the westbound lanes (until late May or early June, when eastbound traffic can be switched back onto the eastbound lanes.)

Project Information: The public may call (970) 773-4537. Updated information regarding traffic impacts on this or other CDOT projects is also available at www.dot.state.co.us/TravelInfo/currentcond/ or by calling 511. To receive project updates via wireless device or e-mail, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including Northwest Colorado.

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