CDOT selects a contractor for Eastbound US 36 Emergency Rebuild Project

July 17, 2019 - Denver Metro Area, Colorado - Kraemer North America  contracted to rebuild damaged portion of EB US 36

DENVER  – The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has selected Kraemer North America as the contractor to rebuild the damaged portion of eastbound US 36 between Wadsworth Boulevard and 104th/Church Ranch Boulevard.  This section of roadway collapsed with the failure of the retaining wall over the weekend.  

The project will be built using a streamlined contracting mechanism called Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) to get the damaged road rebuilt as safely and as efficiently as possible. GMGC is a competitive contracting method that can be utilized quickly, making it a useful tool in an emergency situation.

CDOT designers teamed up with consultant experts, David Evans and RJ Engineering, and they will prepare the design for rebuilding. Under the CMGC system, the builder, Kraemer, will work with the design team to come up with the most feasible and final design of the project.  When the design is complete, the construction cost will be determined. Until then, there is no estimation of cost to rebuild the damaged section of EB US 36. Once the design is complete, then construction begins.

“We are pleased to have selected Kraemer so that we can transition to beginning permanent repairs to US36 eastbound,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “We once again thank the public for their patience during the response phase, and as we shifted towards an interim traffic pattern over the past two days.  Safety has been and remains our highest priority, and we remind travelers to drive carefully in this workzone.”

“Kraemer submitted a strong technical proposal and distinguished themselves in a competitive bidding process among several reputable firms,” said CDOT Chief Engineer Josh Laipply. “With their selection, we can now transition from incident response to the permanent repair of the road.”

Background and Timeline:

Late last week - A crack started to develop along eastbound US 36 on a section of roadway between Wadsworth Boulevard and 104th/Church Ranch Boulevard. CDOT quickly organized maintenance and engineering crews, as well as contractors, for emergency repairs of the crack that formed along the 200-foot section of the roadway.  This portion of eastbound US 36 was closed Friday afternoon, with traffic diverted to the shoulder to keep one lane open. 

Approximately 9:00 p.m. Friday, July 12 - The full closure of this portion of the roadway began as CDOT crews evaluated the damage to determine the right repairs. CDOT engineers used ground penetrating radar to examine the soil under the road and found a void in the road base between 150 and 200 feet long and about 10 feet wide. CDOT maintenance crews removed concrete paving panels from the roadway in preparation for deep drilling through the embankment to better identify both the magnitude and cause of this void.

Saturday, July 13 until until Monday, July 15 - CDOT and contractors continued emergency work. The large cracks developed into a sink hole as the roadway shifted, with significant damage to the retaining wall under the road. CDOT began work to bring a construction contractor in to rebuild this section of eastbound US 36. In the meantime, CDOT crews continued working on an interim traffic configuration to open travel lanes for eastbound traffic. 

In order to provide another option for the traveling public, CDOT offered free travel on RTD's Flatiron Flyer and LD bus routes, in both directions, on Monday and Tuesday, July 15 and 16. 

Before the morning rush hour on Tuesday, July 16 -  CDOT and contract crews completed work to open two eastbound lanes on US 36 near Wadsworth Blvd., 24 hours ahead of schedule. Crews shifted two eastbound lanes on the westbound side with a concrete barrier separating the east- and westbound lanes. This is a stable interim traffic pattern that will be sustainable until eastbound US 36 is rebuilt. 

Overnight July 16 into Wednesday morning, July 17 - Both directions of US 36 were closed from 104th/Church Ranch Boulevard to Wadsworth Boulevard for several hours to move a fiber optic cable that serves multiple local entities. This work was successfully completed by 3 a.m. July 17. 

Wednesday, July 17 - CDOT established a design team and selected a contractor, Kraemer North America, to rebuild the damaged section of  eastbound US 36. 

KEY FACTS

  • The roadway started to crack late last week and the cracks got significantly worse as the roadway shifted, causing the part of the road to cave in and the retaining wall to fall apart.

  • The westbound side and adjacent bridge in the area are safe and in good condition. The bridge has its own support system entirely, with a steel concrete foundation that goes deep into the bedrock. The bridge has been separated from the damaged section of the roadway by CDOT’s bridge crew. 

  • The damage is isolated to a specific area of eastbound US 36

  • In an abundance of caution, CDOT crews have been on scene at all times inspecting and monitoring the damaged area.

  • The bike path over the railroad bridge is also closed for safety reasons. A detour is in place. 

  • The new traffic shift is in place on the westbound side. The Express Lane and shoulder in this area are operating as general purpose lanes for eastbound traffic (No tolls are applied to this section, but Express Lanes are operating as normal outside of the traffic configuration)

  • Travel in this area will be slower than usual, so motorists are advised to expect some delays and give themselves extra time when traveling the corridor during peak periods.