CDOT, City of Durango Partner for ADA Ramp Work on Current Concrete Improvement Project on North Main

DURANGO—Starting this week, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the City of Durango and contractor Acme Concrete Paving began adding Americans with Disabilities Act- (ADA) compliant curb ramps at key intersections along north Main Avenue. The work is being included with the concrete improvement project currently underway for US highways (US) 160 and 550.

Work to add ADA ramps will focus on the following locations:

• 21st Street - all four corners
• 26th Street - northwest (NW) corner only
• 29th Street - SW, SE and NE corners only
• 30th Street - NW, SW, SE corners only
• 31st Street - all four corners

"Through our partnership with CDOT, their engineering team designed the work, and we had advertised the ramp project to contractors last fall and earlier this spring. Unfortunately, we received no successful bids," said City of Durango Assistant City Manager Amber Blake. "We intended to advertise the work again this fall, but the opportunity to partner with CDOT to get this important work included in their current concrete project presented itself.

"This partnership allows us to save taxpayer dollars through partnership cost savings, as well as get this crucial accessibility project implemented in a timely manner. Moreover, by combining the projects, we're limiting the impacts to one project rather than two."

The majority of the funding for the ADA ramp work will be through a $200,000 Federal Highway Administration TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) grant and the city's match of $89,000. Both the city and CDOT will benefit from cost sharing of some overhead services.

This ADA ramp work at the five identified intersections will be the first construction project resulting from the continued partnership between the city and CDOT to construct additional ADA ramps at more intersections along north Main Avenue. The partnership began two years ago as a collaborative effort to complete preliminary design tasks. CDOT is currently working on the design of the second construction project, which will install 30 additional ramps on north Main Avenue. This future project is planned for construction in 2018.

Travel Impacts

• Motorists will encounter traffic shifts at various locations between the Double Tree Hotel and Animas View Dr. on US 550 (Camino del Rio/North Main).
• Also, 24/7, through mid-April, the Main Avenue bridge over Junction Creek, just south of the high school, remains reduced to a single travel lane in each direction as crews make repairs.
• Sign up to receive weekly project updates or connect to weekly lane closure reports (updated each Friday afternoon) by visiting the project website.

Project Details

This $6 million project rehabilitates the concrete on US 160 and 550 through town and north Durango. The project limits lie between Tech Center Drive on US 160 west and Animas View Drive on north Main.

The work is expected to last approximately three months, with the intent of completing the work prior to the Memorial Day holiday weekend at the end of May. Weather permitting, the ADA ramp work is also expected to be completed by late May.

The benefits of the project are:

• prolonged life of the current concrete pavement
• enhanced highway safety for all users
• improved roadway smoothness
• restored skid resistance of the pavement surface

The work that will be done to deliver these benefits is:

• replacement and/or repairs of the damaged concrete pavement
• removal of conflicting stripe and pavement marking "shadows"
• installation of new pavement markings that will include the addition of bike lanes