Repairs to Upper CO 7 (Estes Park to Raymond) to begin on July 5

BOULDER—The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and ACC Mountain West will begin repairs on CO 7, from the intersection of CO 72 to Estes Park, on July 5.

The first phase, from CO 72 to Lily Lake (MP 6.3) will be done this year. Work on Phase 1 includes installation of more than 20 culverts to carry water under the road, reconstruction of the shoulders, rock scaling, slope stabilization and asphalt paving.  The project is slated to last until October 2017 with a winter shutdown from Nov. 15 – March 15.  

CO 7 in Boulder and Larimer counties (also known as the Peak-to-Peak Highway) became the designated detour route for access to Estes Park following the floods of September 2013, which completely closed US 34 and US 36.  It wasn't that CO 7 escaped damage from the floods—shoulders and pavement were washed out, slopes failed and ditches were filled with sediment and debris. The road, however, was still passable so it became a logical detour. Now with the excess wear and tear on the corridor, and because of the flood damage, it's time CO 7 gets its rehabilitation.

CDOT and ACC do not anticipate any full closures of CO 7 but will have single-lane traffic at culvert crossings that will be managed with temporary signals. These signals will alternate traffic during non-construction hours with a maximum 5-minute hold.  During working hours, ACC will manage traffic using flaggers who will maintain holds shorter than 10 minutes throughout the project with the exception of days when rock fall mitigation occurs which may require holds up to 30 minutes.  

ACC will assure all emergency response teams and local businesses are alerted to the detour.  ACC will be working from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. , Monday through Friday, with any traffic disruptions ending by noon on Friday.  

ACC is a Colorado-based contractor building similar projects since 1975.  Since the flood of 2013, ACC has been involved in temporary and permanent repairs on US 34, Larimer CR 27, Larimer CR 43, Larimer CR 47 and CO 14 and is very familiar with the flood's impact on the community and the tourism in the Estes Park area.