Several road projects underway

Summer time is construction time, and the area between Boulder and Longmont is no exception.

There are several projects going on currently and that will start in the near future.

Andrew Barth, communications director for the Boulder County Transportation Department, said that the reason so many run concurrently is a matter of cost-effectiveness.

“Construction costs are increasing steadily and our funding has stayed relatively flat,” Barth said. “We’re trying to do more with the funding that’s available.

“That’s why you’re seeing a lot of overlay lately. By bundling a bunch of roads together with one contractor, we can create a good economy of scale and get more roads for our money. We’re just trying to do as much as we can with what we have.”

The work on 71st Street between Lookout Road and Highway 52 in Gunbarrel was completed last week and the street was reopened. The project replaced a culvert on Boulder and Left Hand Ditch.

“Every time it rained heavily the water inundated that part of the road,” Barth said. “So we increased the capacity by installing a concrete box culvert. There was just a round metal culvert. This will keep the water off of the road.”

The Airport Road project in west Longmont is a resurfacing of the asphalt and part of normal maintenance. Barth said that there will be individual lane closures between Highway 119 and Longmont, and that the project should be completed by July 31.

“There might be some short delays associated with that,” Barth said. “It depends on the equipment and where they are. We try to keep them between five and ten minutes maximum, but if they’re turning a train around it can be more.”

From there, crews will move to East County Line Road. They will be closing the roads sections at a time, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

The first closure will be from Quicksilver Road to Pike Road. The next segment is from Pike to Oxford Road, and then from Niwot Road to Highway 52.

“There will be detours established,” Barth said. “Again, the closures will be only during the daytime, Monday through Friday.

“Motorists are going to have to go around during this time. Add a few minutes to your commute, just be aware and leave a little earlier.”

Another project will be replacing a culvert at Dry Creek #2 on 83rd Street in Niwot. This will also include resurfacing all of 83rd between the Diagonal Highway and Niwot Road.

“Again, that was a severely undersized and old culvert that was starting to crumble,” Barth said. “We’ll replace that with a much larger structure.”

North 83rd Street will also be closed completely for 20 days starting on Aug. 1. There will be work on the crossing near the Diagonal as well.

This project will widen the road to give it a shoulder for biking and running, along with including new crossings for the Niwot Loop Trail and the LoBo Trail.

The county transportation department will also be assisting Parks and Open Space by rebuilding the parking lot at the Left Hand Valley Grange Park.

Finally, the ongoing overlay project on 75th should be completed by July 24, with no full road closures.

Barth wanted to remind motorists to watch out for workers and travel safely as all of these projects are underway.

“We’re in full-on construction season here,” Barth said. “We need people to pay attention, slow down and be aware of their surroundings.

“Conditions can change in this region rapidly. We want everybody to be safe at all times. We’ll do our best to move through the area as soon as possible and alleviate any inconveniences we’re causing.”