Colorado 82: Traffic Gains Anticipated and Planned Improvements

[andy3175]

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/13910134-113/traffic-cdot-highway-glenwood

Colorado Highway 82 – the crucial artery of the Roaring Fork Valley and already as busy as the drive from Golden to Boulder – is going to get more crowded, whether the new Grand Avenue Bridge is built or not. If estimates are right, it will be a lot busier. The Colorado Department of Transportation expects increases five years from now of between 10 and 25 percent at different spots on the 40-mile stretch of Highway 82 from Interstate 70 to the Aspen traffic circle. In Glenwood Springs, that means more backups and continued long waits for vehicles and pedestrians trying to cross Grand Avenue. ...

The road, known as "Killer 82" before it was fully widened to four lanes, has become safer through the years, survey respondents said and CDOT statistics indicate. Besides the long process of widening the highway in segments, begun in the 1960s and wrapped up in 2004, CDOT added wildlife fencing in 2010. That has cut crashes with animals by roughly half, to about 65 a year in the stretch between Glenwood and Aspen. ... The Glenwood-to-Aspen route averages about 105 injury accidents a year, roughly two of them are fatal. So far in 2014, five people have died on the highway downvalley from Aspen, a five-year high. ...

(T)he worst traffic on Highway 82 is in Glenwood Springs. Because the city is geographically constrained by the canyon walls and two mountain rivers that make it an attractive tourist spot, Glenwood residents have talked about building a Highway 82 bypass since the 1970s. The cost has never been estimated, but CDOT's recent environmental assessment of the Grand Avenue Bridge project spitballs a bypass cost at five to 10 times the $100 million bridge project. CDOT says a bypass remains on the table, but the bridge project is a safety issue that takes priority.

The bridge and bypass are competing 800-pound gorillas in Glenwood traffic discussions, with the bridge project scheduled to start late next year. In the final phase, the bridge, which carries approximately 25,000 vehicles a day, will be closed for three months.

[andy3175]

Apparently the Grand Ave bridge vs Colorado 82 improvements is quite controversial. Here is an opinion piece opposed to widening the Grand Ave bridge in Glenwood Springs ...

http://www.postindependent.com/opinion/13971481-113/highway-glenwood-traffic-bridge

Colorado Department of Transportation is currently soliciting public comment to the Environmental Assessment, (EA) to replace the existing Grand Avenue bridge in Glenwood Springs with an entirely new and dramatically different structure. A modern marvel of engineering. The $100 million-plus design is basically a giant, modern freeway curve, leaping across the Colorado River that would land you right back down in funky old downtown Glenwood. ... In general, Glenwood's economy is based on tourism and recreation. Having an ultramodern freeway as the "entrance"  to town is a complete contrast to the central core historic buildings that characterize GWS to both visitors and residents alike. The "modern freeway"  proposal could not be more glaringly out of place. The historical core would be dominated and marginalized by the size and scope of the proposed bridge. The small businesses that currently operate in that area will suffer months of disruption during two years of construction. There are no long-term benefits to them either, because upon completion, the proposed freeway entrance design will only result in more traffic, more noise and more pollution. ... Please take a few moments to tell C-DOT that Highway 82 is the problem, not the Grand Avenue bridge.

[andy3175]

Here's the official project page for the Colorado 82 Grand Avenue Bridge project in Glenwood Springs:

http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/sh82grandavenuebridge

The recommended bridge alignment takes vehicles from I-70 Exit 116 directly across the river into downtown Glenwood Springs and to destinations south on SH 82. 6th Street no longer carries SH 82 traffic, and a reconfigured intersection at 6th and Laurel maintains connections to the hotel areas and neighborhoods on the north side of the river. Coordination with the City of Glenwood Springs and the Downtown Development Authority has focused on opportunities to redevelop 6th Street and the area under the Grand Avenue Bridge south of 7th Street to a more pedestrian scale. The recommended alignment and how to best build it led to discussions about replacing the pedestrian bridge. The project team, in collaboration with the PLT, PWG, SWG, and the public, determined that a new pedestrian bridge improves the pedestrian and bicyclist connection across the river and provides opportunities for aesthetic treatments that reflect the historic character of Glenwood Springs. It also reduces overall project costs and improves construction phasing to minimize the duration of a full closure of SH 82 while reconstructing the highway bridge.

After the comment period for the EA, which now ends on December 31, 2014, the Study team will compile and evaluate all comments received.  A decision document will be prepared that will complete the EA process. At the same time, the project team plans to continue to work with the PWG, SWG and the public to identify and explore design considerations for bridge types, aesthetics and multimodal connections in a preliminary design phase. CDOT hired a construction consultant that will work with the project team to refine alternatives to minimize construction impacts and develop a cost-effective design that meets the project objectives.

The bridge is eligible for funding under the Colorado Bridge Enterprise (CBE) as a part Senate Bill 09-108, also known as FASTER (Funding Advancements for Surface Treatment and Economic Recovery). The purpose of the CBE is to complete designated bridge projects that involve the financing, repair, reconstruction and replacement of bridges designated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and rated "poor"  by CDOT. CBE will primarily fund improvements to or replacement of the Grand Avenue Bridge and elements needed for the optimal function of the bridge.

[thenetwork]

CO-82, between Basalt and Aspen, is the only highway I know of where the HOV lane is in the RIGHT lane, and all single drivers are required to remain in the LEFT (Passing) LANE, except if making a right turn. 

The HOV rules only apply to "Rush Hour" or Ski Resort traffic -- Aspen (East) Bound in the AM, Basalt (West) Bound in the PM.

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