Highway 50 Improvement Project Set to Start
Work consists of rotomilling the old surface and then paving the 10 mile segment between 1st Street in Caňon City and the entrance to the Royal Gorge (County Road 3A). Other upgrades include extending several concrete box culverts, erosion control, new signing and striping.
Project hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Work begins in Caňon City and proceeds westward. In the project area where Highway 50 is four lanes, traffic will be reduced to a single lane and continue unimpeded. However, further west, the highway is two lanes and will require flaggers to alternate eastbound and westbound traffic through the work zone, requiring stops up to 15 minutes.
The speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph in the project area during work hours.
“This project will give the traveling public a smoother road surface that’ll last at least 10 years,” says CDOT Project Engineer Mike Bass. “In addition, by extending the box culverts, it’ll enhance safety by eliminating the sharp drop-offs that currently exist and it’ll provide a larger shoulder area for vehicles. Another safety improvement is the new signs and striping, since they’ll improve highway visibility, especially at night.”
The $4.1 million project, contracted to A & S Construction Co. of Caňon City, is scheduled for completion in October 2013.
Traffic information about this or other CDOT projects is on the cotrip.org website, by calling 511 or via subscription e-mail. To subscribe, please 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 Southwest Colorado (Everything West of I-25 and South of I-70).
