North 95th Street reconstruction began April 22

North 95th Street between Valmont Road and Lookout Road is being "completely rebuilt" starting this week, with road closures for eight hours on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., according to an announcement from the Boulder County Public Works Department. Phase 1 of the plan began April 22 between Lookout Road and Gunbarrel Ridge Road and is projected to end sometime in early 2025.

The Boulder County Public Works Department's website states there will still be access to neighborhoods and homes, even during the times where the roads are shut down to through traffic. However, there will most likely be delays depending on the equipment being used on the roads at the time.

This street reconstruction has been planned since the flood of Boulder Creek in 2013 which put a large segment of the road underwater and destroyed some of the pavement. Most of the reconstruction is to prevent North 95th Street and its surrounding area from potential damage by floods. However, there will also be some adjustments to improve traffic in the area as well.

This project is being funded by Federal Transportation for Intersection Safety, Mile High Flood District funding for flood resiliency, and the Boulder County Public Works Department according to previous meetings by Boulder County Transportation.

"Public Works has been working with the City of Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks Department during the development of this project with the intention of respecting the open space value and agricultural heritage of the Boulder Valley Farms operation," Boulder County Public Works' website stated in the project announcement. "The project's main goal is to keep the road from overtopping during smaller events, such as 5- and 10-year storms, and most importantly, ensure that the road remains intact during and after larger 100-year events, even if the road needs to be closed until water recedes."

The reconstruction will occur in two phases due to the eagle nesting season in the area.

The first phase of the reconstruction has four sub-parts. The first part will be construction between Lookout Road and Gunbarrel Ridge Road, lasting from April through mid-May, 2024. The next section will be from Gunbarrel Ridge Road to Phillips Road, and is scheduled from mid-May through mid-June. From mid-June through mid-July, construction will occur between Phillips Road and Owl Lane. The final part of Phase 1 will see construction from Owl Lane to near Valmont Road from mid-July through late August.

This phase will raise the road to reduce flood damage, add six concrete box culverts to carry excess flood water and allow safe travel for wildlife, regrade the floodplain and add a left-hand turn lane to the northbound side of the Gunbarrel Ridge Road intersection.

Phase 2 will see construction from the end of Phase 1 to a point slightly North of Peter Leyner Lane. This phase of the reconstruction will start this September, lasting until sometime early next year on a date yet to be announced. During Phase 2, this section of North 95th Street will be entirely closed at all times until the construction is finished.

All of the changes will consider bicycles and accessibility for pedestrians for road safety. In the surrounding area, there will be road grading to flatten some of the hills and floodplains in the area, along with adding environmentally safe road armoring, consisting of interlinked concrete blocks, to prevent scour.

Gravel-bottomed floodways will be installed on both the east and west ends of North 95th Street which are designed to divert flood water. Boulder County Public Works Department expects that flooding in the area will be far less severe than it was in 2013 and 2015, and that the property value in the area will increase due to the added flood safety.

"We'll work as fast as we can to get this project completed because we know how important this north-south corridor is to residents," said Andrew Barth, a Boulder County Public Works and Communications official associated with the project. "Unfortunately, we can't complete both Phases 1 and 2 at the same time due to environmental concerns with nesting birds near where the new culvert will be built. Once we're done here, we'll have rebuilt all of 95th between Longmont and Lafayette, so we won't be back for a long time."