Traffic getting back to normal on I-76
Morgan County - On Wednesday, Nov. 5, weather permitting, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will switch the eastbound lanes of traffic onto the newly completed concrete eastbound lanes of I-76 from Brush to Fort Morgan. Once eastbound traffic has been switched onto the new lanes, traffic on I-76 will be in its final, divided configuration. Completion of the eastbound lanes of I-76 is part of a larger interstate reconstruction project that improves the existing infrastructure of a six-mile stretch of I-76 from Brush to Fort Morgan.
Since the project began in March 2013, crews have removed and replaced both directions of I-76 and built/rehabilitated/replaced 13 bridges and one box culvert. When this two-year project is finished in late November 2014, crews will have reconfigured two I-76 interchanges at State Highway 71 and Dodd Bridge Road to standard interchanges and lengthened all on- and off-ramps for a safer transition on and off of the interstate. Additionally, long-term drainage improvements will have been made along the interstate in Brush.
Following the traffic switch, one lane will be open in each direction from Mile Post 85 to Mile Post 91 as crews complete work along the shoulders. Motorists can expect various single lane closures to continue throughout the remaining construction. The speed limit will remain 55 mph until work has been completed. Construction hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with limited night and weekend work. Delays during working hours will be kept to a minimum, and only one interchange will be closed at a time for construction.
The project has a contracted cost of $39.6 million to Castle Rock Construction Co. This project is the first Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships (RAMP) project in northeast Colorado. The RAMP program is a way CDOT is changing how it budgets for and spends funds on transportation projects. By funding this multi-year project based on year of expenditure, rather than saving for the full amount of the project before it started, the RAMP program helped move this project forward three to five years after it had been shelved for more than 10 years.
For additional questions or comments about the I-76 Fort Morgan to Brush project, please contact the project public information line at 970-840-7090 or [email protected]. The project also has a website at www.coloradodot.info/projects/i76brushreconstruction.
To receive updates about road conditions in your area, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cell phone icon in the upper right hand corner of the page. Information about weekly lane closures will be available at www.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html. Live road conditions are available at www.cotrip.org or by calling 511 from anywhere in the state. Updates are also available via Twitter @coloradodot and be sure to “Like” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/coloradodot.
