Expect Delays During U.S. 36 Lane Closures Wednesday, Thursday Nights
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4)- Construction work along U.S. 36 in Westminster will continue with road closures planned for Wednesday and Thursday. The Colorado Department of Transportation delayed the planned overnight lane closures near Church Ranch Boulevard by a day because of the rain and cold temperatures.
"This decision was made because the project needs to have dry pavement conditions in order to safely and effectively stripe the roadway," CDOT officials said in a news release.
CDOT hopes to have the highway back to its normal traffic configuration by Friday morning.
The construction and repair work is the result of a retaining wall on the eastbound side collapsing in July.
CDOT used more than 100 concrete caissons, drilled down to the bedrock, and thousands of blocks of geofoam to rebuild the slope.
In addition to opening traffic to the original alignment, crews will install a temporary bike path that will open to the public this month. Additional work on the wall, final bike path, and fence is expected to last through December.
KEY FACTS:
• The roadway started to crack July 11-12 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, the survey team continues to monitor the damaged section of roadway.
• 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.