CDOT Encourages Motorists to Plan Ahead for Full Closure of I-70 Near Pecos Street
DENVER – Starting at 10 p.m. on Friday, July 19 and continuing until 5 a.m. on Monday, July 22, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will close both directions of I-70 between I-25 and Federal Boulevard for bridge work. During the closure, crews will demolish the existing Pecos Street bridge over I-70 and roll-in the new 2,400-ton Pecos Street bridge into its final configuration.
Lane closures will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 19 in preparation for the full closure at 10 p.m. During the closure, traffic will be rerouted to I-76 or 6th Avenue. All lanes of eastbound and westbound I-70 will reopen by 5 a.m. on Monday, July 22. Pecos Street will remain closed through August while crews pave, finish roundabouts, complete landscaping, install utilities, signals and permanent barrier, and build the medians.
“By constructing the bridge off-site and rolling it into place over one weekend, we eliminated the need of numerous highway closures over the duration of the project, greatly reducing the overall impacts to the traveling public,” said CDOT Project Engineer Tamara Hunter-Maurer. “To help motorists prepare for the upcoming closure, CDOT has numerous traveler tools such as CDOT Mobile, 511 and www.cotrip.org and we strongly encourage motorists to start planning their trips accordingly.”
Due to the size and shape of the bridge, if it was built in place over the highway, Pecos Street would have closed for one year and I-70 would have had 20 to 30 full closures throughout construction. By building the bridge off-site and rolling it into place with a weekend closure of I-70, the project team was able to shorten the schedule by eight months.
The I-70/Pecos Street project replaces the existing bridge, which was originally constructed in 1965 and is in poor condition and replaces the existing signalized intersections on Pecos Street with two roundabouts. The project will improve the highway infrastructure, creating a safer trip for motorists. In addition, by constructing the roundabouts, congestion will be reduced, creating a more efficient transportation system that better supports economic and job growth.
The $18.6 million project is funded by the Colorado Bridge Enterprise, which uses a small portion of vehicle registration fees to repair or replace poor bridges.
For more information about the project, please visit the project website at coloradodot.info/projects/pecosoveri70. To receive weekly email updates during the project, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the cell phone icon in the upper right corner. You can then sign up for various lists including “I-70 at Pecos” under Projects.
