US 24 and CO 67 Bridges
Project Overview
In mid September, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin a bridge replacement project to replace three structurally deficient bridges that were built in the 1930’s. The first bridge is on eastbound US-24 over Fountain Creek at mile marker 294, approximately 0.4 miles east of Fountain Avenue (Pikes Peak Highway) in Cascade. The second bridge is located on SH-67 at mile marker 78.4 on the north side of Woodland Park, and the third bridge is located on US-24 at mile marker 270.8 about 1 mile east of Florissant. The bridge replacements will involve lane restrictions and full closures of US-24.
SEMA Construction, Inc. is the contractor of this $2.0 million project scheduled to be complete by the end of December 2010.
FASTER – Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery – is fully funding the $2 million project. Financed by vehicle registration fees, FASTER established a Statewide Bridge Enterprise, funding the maintenance and repair of Colorado’s most urgent structurally-deficient and functionally-obsolete bridges. Additional information is accessible at: www.coloradodot.info/projects/faster.
Cascade Site
The replacement of the bridge on eastbound US-24 over Fountain Creek in Cascade (0.4 miles east of the Pikes Peak Highway) has begun and scheduled to continue through mid October. The contractor has been given 14 days to complete the bridge replacement and eastbound US-24 will be completely closed during the bridge replacement, and eastbound and westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane and run head to head on westbound US-24 around the bridge construction site. After the bridge replacement is complete and traffic is returned to original configuration there will be lane closures to complete the work.
Woodland Park Site
Replacement of the bridge on SH-67 over Loy Gulch on the north side of Woodland Park is scheduled to begin in mid-September and finish in early November. The existing wooden bridge will be replaced with a box culvert. Half of the box culvert will be built on the west side of the existing bridge. Then, a detour will be constructed over the new box culvert. Once traffic has been shifted to the detour, the existing bridge will be demolished, the east half of the box culvert will be built, and the new roadway will be constructed. The pedestrian trail on the east side of the bridge will remain open throughout construction.
An open house was held on August 31, 2010 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at the Woodland Park Town Hall Council Chambers. The Woodland Park bridge replacement work will begin sometime between early October 2010 and continue through November 2010.
Florissant Site
Replacement of the bridge on US-24 over Twin Creek 1mile east of Florissant is scheduled to start October 7, and the contractor will be given 14 days to complete the bridge replacement. During this bridge replacement, US-24 will be completely closed and traffic between Florissant and Divide will be detoured on County Road 1 and County Road 42 (Twin Rocks Road.) The detour route, County Road 1 and County Road 42 has been restriped and additional signs identifying steep grades and sharp corners along the route are placed. After the bridge replacement is complete and traffic is returned to original configuration there will be lane closures to complete the work.
Beginning early Thursday morning, all traffic will be detoured to County Road 1 and 42 (Lower Twin Rocks Road), 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for up to two weeks (see map below). The detour speed limit will be 35 mph. Vehicles wider than 11 feet also will be restricted from traveling the detour route. However, all large trucks are encouraged to use an alternate route while U.S. 24 is closed.
Project Timeline
- Contractor Begins Design – August 2010
- Cascade Bridge Replacement – Late September to Early October 2010
- Woodland Park Bridge Replacement – Early October to November 2010
- Florissant Bridge Replacement – Early to Mid October
- Construction Complete – December 31, 2010
