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Rare Day Closure Of I-70 For Road Repair From Colfax To Tower

DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Transportation will be doing a rare daytime closure of Interstate 70 Thursday morning from Colfax Avenue to Tower Road.

The interstate will close from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. to repair the roadway that has deteriorated because of the recent fluctuating temperatures.

It's a 3-mile stretch of orange cones, semi-trucks and cracked roadway where daily patches have gone in and popped back up.

"We're starting to realize that it's not providing the fix that we need for the safety of drivers in that area," Emily Wilfong with CDOT told CBS4.

Wilfong said the last storm proved small fixes won't work. CDOT blames amazing amounts of freezing and thawing for the disrepair on that particular stretch of road that's under construction.

"We'll go in there and remove concrete and repave that roadway with a permanent concrete that will last and stand the test of time," Wilfong said.

CDOT had to act quickly because it's the only time contractors can do the work. Already booked solid on similar repairs around crumbling roads across the state, construction firms are so busy that they are working around the clock from one job to the next.

"Typically, we try to work at night to mitigate any disruption to traffic. In this case, we must work during the day due to the availability of concrete needed for the job," said Tony DeVito, CDOT Region 1 Transportation Director. "Our role is to provide and maintain a safe driving surface for motorists. We're taking this commitment seriously by mobilizing (Thursday) for this emergency repair."

Interstate 70 Colfax Tower Road Construction generic
(credit: CBS)

CDOT said the repair work is permanent and includes "removing damaged concrete pavement and replacing it with high strength concrete."

Public works departments in Colorado cities still haven't seen the worst damage of the season, which is still months away. They're already considering areas that could become new problems soon.

Additional Information From CDOT

For information on other projects, visit http://www.cotrip.org/roadConditions.htm, call 511 or download the CDOT mobile app.

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