CDOT Starts Construction on Southbound I-225 from Yosemite to I-25

Access restrictions: DTC Boulevard on-ramp traffic to southbound I-225 will be restricted to northbound I-25 and will not have access to southbound I-25.

DENVER—Crews this week will begin prep work to ease congestion on southbound I-225 in the Denver Tech Center area. Crews will convert the shoulder into an additional lane on southbound I-225 by re-striping less than a mile from Yosemite Street to I-25. The re-striping project is expected to reduce delays by more than 50 percent on one of the most congested bottlenecks in the region.

Work is scheduled to begin Sunday morning, Nov. 5. Drivers who use the DTC Boulevard on-ramp (coming from DTC Boulevard, Yosemite Street and E. Quincy Avenue) to get on southbound I-225 where it merges with I-25 will not have access to southbound I-25. They will be directed to northbound I-25.

Other ways to get onto southbound I-25 are Belleview and Orchard to the south and Hampden to the north. The access restriction is necessary to prevent hazardous weaving and improve traffic flow on southbound I-225.

The access restriction will be permanent as part of the pilot project to reduce congestion on southbound I-225. Drivers on southbound I-225 prior to Yosemite Street will continue to have access to both southbound and northbound I-25.

Construction & Travel Impacts

• Nighttime construction lasting up to one month: Oct. 30 through late November
  Construction on southbound I-225 begins this week and will take less than a month to complete. Work will occur at night with at least one lane open on southbound I-225. The project should be complete by the end of November 2017.
  
  
• DTC Boulevard on-ramp to southbound I-225 closures: Nov. 3-6
  The on-ramp will temporarily close from 11 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday; 9 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday; and 9 p.m. Sunday to 5:30 a.m. Monday. Crews will place concrete barriers along the right shoulder of southbound I-225 that will restrict on-ramp traffic to northbound I-25. The shoulder behind the barrier will be converted to a travel lane, carrying DTC Boulevard on-ramp traffic to northbound I-25. These barriers will be in place permanently beginning Nov. 5.
  
  
• Restriping southbound I-225: Nov. 10-13
  On nights and mornings, crews will restripe southbound I-225 from Yosemite Street to the I-25 interchange. Preparation work will take place the other nights.

Typical working hours on southbound I-225 are 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 p.m. Fridays to 10 a.m. Saturdays; 9 p.m. Saturdays to 10 a.m. Sundays; and 9 p.m. Sundays to 5:30 a.m. Mondays. Night work will occur on the DTC Boulevard on-ramp as well.

Project Info

With traffic back-ups extending three miles on southbound I-225 during peak travel times, converting the shoulder to a lane is anticipated to cut traffic delays in half. The cost of this project is less than $1 million, and the work will take less than a month to complete, as compared to spending $65 million to build additional lanes and rebuild bridges, which would take a couple of years to complete. The restriping is a pilot project, and it will be evaluated and monitored for effectiveness.