CO 145 Passing Lane Addition North of Telluride

Project Overview

This work has greatly improved safety for motorists on a two-lane stretch of Colorado Highway 145 north (or down-valley) of Telluride by:

• widening the highway to add a southbound, uphill passing lane (toward Telluride); and
• improving shoulders between mile point (MP) 73.9 at lllium Road (County Road 65L) and MP 75.1 at Deep Creek Road.

Passing lanes provide space and opportunities for faster vehicles to safely pass slower-moving traffic.

To widen the roadway to accommodate the new southbound passing lane, crews escavated the hillside along the northbound lanes. This involved the following:

• building a reinforced soil slope and rockery retaining wall
• installing new guardrail
• replacing culverts at eight locations across the work zone, from Illium Road to the CDOT maintenance facility
• constructing a concrete box culvert at Deep Creek
• adjusting the roadway's banked curve and leveling its height to improve safety through cornering ease and increased sight distance

Schedule & Travel Impacts

No further traffic impacts.