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Colorado

Started by mightyace, March 04, 2009, 01:20:28 PM

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andy3175

A section of US 36 freeway (turnpike) at Church Ranch Boulevard between Denver and Boulder that was reconstructed/expanded about five years ago suffered a large crack, which later became a sinkhole. This forced closure of the turnpike last Friday. Work to address this has been underway through the last weekend and continues today. Two lanes reopened this morning.

Details:

https://www.timescall.com/2019/07/15/u-s-36-to-see-major-changes-while-efforts-continue-to-repair-sinkhole-that-closed-eastbound-lanes/amp/

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/16/us-36-denver-boulder-collapse-blame/amp/&ved=0ahUKEwi7iK7LvrnjAhVOVs0KHYr-BSIQyM8BCEYwBg&usg=AOvVaw2Q5jJxnWFnD_5QlqPLEHIX&ampcf=1

https://www.google.com/amp/s/denver.cbslocal.com/2019/07/15/highway-36-westminster-wadsworth-closure/amp/

Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com


zzcarp

It will be interesting to see the engineering and/or construction failure that caused this. US 36 was built adjacent to and over Lower Church Lake which is an old reservoir formerly used for agriculture.

I'm seeing many of my friends blame it on the public/private partnership, Plenary Roads, that built, maintains, and operates the road including the HOT lanes. There is a lot of anger with the added so-called "Lexus Lanes" without any general purpose capacity, and they are collapsing that complaint with this issue.

Interestingly enough, this same overpass location had a failure before when it collapsed in 1985 due to a head-on train collision. An article with some great pictures of the previous collapse is here: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/when-colorado-lost-a-major-overpass/427366033.
So many miles and so many roads

keithvh

Quote from: andy3175 on July 16, 2019, 09:01:39 AM
A section of US 36 freeway (turnpike) at Church Ranch Boulevard between Denver and Boulder that was reconstructed/expanded about five years ago suffered a large crack, which later became a sinkhole. This forced closure of the turnpike last Friday. Work to address this has been underway through the last weekend and continues today. Two lanes reopened this morning.

Details:

https://www.timescall.com/2019/07/15/u-s-36-to-see-major-changes-while-efforts-continue-to-repair-sinkhole-that-closed-eastbound-lanes/amp/

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/16/us-36-denver-boulder-collapse-blame/amp/&ved=0ahUKEwi7iK7LvrnjAhVOVs0KHYr-BSIQyM8BCEYwBg&usg=AOvVaw2Q5jJxnWFnD_5QlqPLEHIX&ampcf=1

https://www.google.com/amp/s/denver.cbslocal.com/2019/07/15/highway-36-westminster-wadsworth-closure/amp/

Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

I live in Broomfield, Colorado.  My new home after moving from Cincinnati.  This has definitely made a mess of the traffic patterns the last few days.  Luckily, they're getting traffic flowing both ways again (at the reduction of some lanes on the westbound side).

The 120th Street overpass (east of Wadsworth) of US-36 opened within the past 12 months.  Traffic patterns would have REALLY been a mess without that. 

zzcarp

An update to the US 36 closure: the road is still sinking at 2"/hour and they are saying it is because of a landslide, not a structural failure.

https://kdvr.com/2019/07/18/u-s-36-still-sinking-2-inches-per-hour-over-10-feet-since-last-week/
So many miles and so many roads

Mark68

Quote from: zzcarp on July 18, 2019, 02:47:41 PM
An update to the US 36 closure: the road is still sinking at 2"/hour and they are saying it is because of a landslide, not a structural failure.

https://kdvr.com/2019/07/18/u-s-36-still-sinking-2-inches-per-hour-over-10-feet-since-last-week/

I wonder if the previous contractor didn't build enough drainage underneath the road bed. It was a wet winter/spring, so I'm curious as to whether that played a significant role.

I'm glad I live on the opposite end of the metro.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."~Yogi Berra

The Ghostbuster

Are they going to build any more of the 470 beltway around Denver? Or is the beltway as finished as it is ever going to be?

thspfc

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on July 19, 2019, 06:42:29 PM
Are they going to build any more of the 470 beltway around Denver? Or is the beltway as finished as it is ever going to be?
Apparently NIMBYs are an issue. Not too surprising since there's so much protected land - it is in the foothills, after all.

Elm

#57
Construction on the Jefferson Parkway will allegedly begin next year (fact sheet here), which would make a beltway-shaped path around the Denver metro. There'd be signals at each end, and while it's planned as a freeway, there are no active plans for freeway connections south to C-470 or north to the Northwest Parkway.

Here's a bigger version of that map–note the north end no longer connecting directly to Interlocken Loop and the NWP, to avoid the airport. There's also an outdated, but more detailed, map here. Who knows? It might even happen. On the NIMBY subject, residents of the Leyden Rock development (which was designed with a Jefferson parkway-shaped hole through it and requires signatures to acknowledge the potential tollway) have been in the news a few times over the last year talking about how the project has taken them by surprise.

There are plans to make US 6 and Hwy 93 a lower-speed limited access road through Golden (endorsed by the city, even), but Hwy 93 north to Boulder would not get that treatment. There's also the idea of a "Northwest Parkway extension"  but I don't know of any up-to-date information; past concepts include one elevated lane each way or an actual freeway connection.

Elm

Another non-update of sorts on the Jefferson Parkway, published a few days ago: "Jefferson Parkway: Long-planned toll road on verge of being built"; the main 'update' part would be this, I think

QuoteThe JPPHA is waiting for Broomfield to make its decision on the $2.5 million before the formal request for a parkway proposal is sent out, Ray said.
Broomfield's city council has tabled the issue of the $2.5 million, and as of press time has not scheduled a meeting to discuss it further.

Ray said that assuming Broomfield does provide the funding, and the authority board approves it, details of the parkway plan will be posted on the JPPHA's website.
 
Ground could break on the parkway in early 2020. It would take an estimated two years to build

which is interesting since Broomfield has historically been a fan of the Jefferson Parkway and NWP extension.

(It looks like that 'tabling' was removing the Jefferson Parkway item from the city council's June 25 agenda.)

Kniwt

As part of the work in Glenwood Canyon on I-70, the old variable speed limit signs are being replaced with new signs that can display separate speed limits for autos and trucks.

Sorry, no pic, but here's a PDF of a CDOT info sheet: https://www.codot.gov/library/traffic/traffic-manuals-and-guidelines/traffic_analysis_forecasting_guidelines/vsl_summary

Quote
I-70 Glenwood Canyon
(Completion Date: October 2019)
Project Work & Benefits

Strategically placed technology to monitor weather and traffic conditions, and control speed limits where needed. This includes:
1) Weather stations for live monitoring and reporting, standard static signs dual variable speed limit signs, closed-circuit cameras for live monitoring

2) Dual variable speed limits will allow the Department to post different standard speeds for passenger vehicles and heavy vehicles during good conditions and will also allow the Department to lower the speed limit to assist with incident management, conditions created by inclement weather, and maintenance and construction.

Kniwt

The Denver Post updates the status of collapsed US 36 near Denver:
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/14/us-36-denver-boulder-highway-collapse/

QuoteCrews working to reopen the collapsed eastbound lanes of U.S. 36 in Westminster shifted into rebuilding mode Wednesday as the Colorado Department of Transportation announced new details about the project.

CDOT for the first time identified a target of reopening the full highway by October. That depends on weather cooperating during the expedited effort by contractor Kraemer North America to rebuild the embankment, retaining wall and highway pavement, CDOT said in a project update Wednesday evening.

Until then, that section of U.S. 36 will continue to have two lanes in each direction sharing space on the westbound side, which CDOT says remains stable. An investigation continues into the collapse.

... The design chosen for the rebuilt eastbound section will use different materials than were used when the highway was rebuilt earlier this decade.


Plutonic Panda

Man Colorado is a beautiful state but it needs to work on its roads. Lots of widenings needed and I'm not sure I've ever seen chronic traffic as bad as I-70 west in a city the size Denver. That stretch between Denver and Breckenridge needs to be at minimum 4 lanes each way PLUS HO/T lanes. I-70 throughout the entire state west of Denver.

The lane markings were awful in many parts of the state especially of the interstate. What is the purpose of the traffic light at the tunnel heading to Denver? Sheesh.

Though 4 lanes works fine enough, CO-9 between Breckenridge and I-70 would be nicer if six lanes.

thenetwork

Quote from: Plutonic Panda on August 16, 2019, 04:29:10 PM
Man Colorado is a beautiful state but it needs to work on its roads. Lots of widenings needed and I'm not sure I've ever seen chronic traffic as bad as I-70 west in a city the size Denver. That stretch between Denver and Breckenridge needs to be at minimum 4 lanes each way PLUS HO/T lanes. I-70 throughout the entire state west of Denver.

The lane markings were awful in many parts of the state especially of the interstate. What is the purpose of the traffic light at the tunnel heading to Denver? Sheesh.

Though 4 lanes works fine enough, CO-9 between Breckenridge and I-70 would be nicer if six lanes.

The I-70 traffic light at the bottom of the hill near Silverthorne is used during extreme congestion times on the weekends (ususally Sundays) during ski season to meter traffic climbing the steep grade to the tunnel.  C-DOT tries to keep the traffic flowing at a decent flow through the tunnel without making the traffic stop in the Tunnel.   Also used to halt traffic when road conditions up the hill are impassable and need to be sanded.

I-70 West of Vail is fine as a 2x2 all the way to I-15 in Utah.  The only times when there is congestion is when there is a rockslide in a canyon, and an additional lane will likely not make a difference.

Plutonic Panda

Quote from: thenetwork on August 17, 2019, 11:14:07 AM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on August 16, 2019, 04:29:10 PM
Man Colorado is a beautiful state but it needs to work on its roads. Lots of widenings needed and I'm not sure I've ever seen chronic traffic as bad as I-70 west in a city the size Denver. That stretch between Denver and Breckenridge needs to be at minimum 4 lanes each way PLUS HO/T lanes. I-70 throughout the entire state west of Denver.

The lane markings were awful in many parts of the state especially of the interstate. What is the purpose of the traffic light at the tunnel heading to Denver? Sheesh.

Though 4 lanes works fine enough, CO-9 between Breckenridge and I-70 would be nicer if six lanes.

The I-70 traffic light at the bottom of the hill near Silverthorne is used during extreme congestion times on the weekends (ususally Sundays) during ski season to meter traffic climbing the steep grade to the tunnel.  C-DOT tries to keep the traffic flowing at a decent flow through the tunnel without making the traffic stop in the Tunnel.   Also used to halt traffic when road conditions up the hill are impassable and need to be sanded.

I-70 West of Vail is fine as a 2x2 all the way to I-15 in Utah.  The only times when there is congestion is when there is a rockslide in a canyon, and an additional lane will likely not make a difference.
That light caused an hour and a half backup to travel mere miles. How much worse would it be in the tunnel? I think they make traffic worse with the light. Having a traffic light in the middle of an interstate is insanity to me.

As for I-70 west onward, though traffic flowed it moved fairly slow and it would have been nice to have a 3rd lane. Traffic certainly would move faster and the ADT's can't go anywhere but up. It seems a matter of time before congestion starts becoming a daily occurrence through there. Those towns seemed to have several construction projects for developments and that was just me glancing over at a moments notice, so I am not sure how much construction is occurring through there.

Elm

Quote from: Kniwt on August 15, 2019, 07:28:48 PMThe Denver Post updates the status of collapsed US 36 near Denver:
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/14/us-36-denver-boulder-highway-collapse/

Nice to have an end date in mind. I wonder if/how this will play into future public-private partnerships in the state; between this, RTD's commuter rail trouble, and the terminated airport terminal contract, it feels like their reputation has been slipping, but I don't know if that's in a way that would affect future P3s.

Quote from: Plutonic Panda on August 17, 2019, 01:39:11 PMThat light caused an hour and a half backup to travel mere miles. How much worse would it be in the tunnel? I think they make traffic worse with the light. Having a traffic light in the middle of an interstate is insanity to me.

As for I-70 west onward, though traffic flowed it moved fairly slow and it would have been nice to have a 3rd lane. Traffic certainly would move faster and the ADT's can't go anywhere but up. It seems a matter of time before congestion starts becoming a daily occurrence through there. Those towns seemed to have several construction projects for developments and that was just me glancing over at a moments notice, so I am not sure how much construction is occurring through there.

If funding hypothetically materialized, the I-70 mountain corridor plan's "maximum program of improvements"  would have six lanes from Denver through the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels (in effect to Silverthorne, including the climbing/descending lanes west of the tunnels). Proactive highway expansion doesn't happen in Colorado, and the I-70 mountain corridor is a particularly sensitive area anyway; convenient vehicular travel isn't in the cards.

Thinking about what I-70 itself might look like in the expanded highway scenario, though–
After the lane evening-out from the maybe-someday Flyod Hill project, there'd be three general-purpose lanes from Denver out to the Twin Tunnels ("˜Veteran Memorial Tunnels,' near Idaho Springs)/Central City Pkwy area, but the third lane would probably be tolled the rest of the way west, very especially the mythical third bore of the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels.

For now, we can expect no Floyd Hill project (but maybe they'll start publicizing it again to encourage voters to fund stuff), but they're working on a westbound tolled peak period shoulder lane from Idaho Springs to Empire Junction to go with the eastbound PPSL.

Since it's likely that they'd add a climbing lane approaching the EJMT before a complete expansion happened, I wonder if they'd try to make that a toll lane or add a fourth lane to toll. I doubt either approach would appeal to CDOT, but they'd probably try to do something to connect the third bore to the other tolled lanes. So far, they hasn't actively pursued converting GPLs to managed lanes in a project, but the concept has come up on a few recent studies of I-25.

(If you're talking about the lights near the entrance to the EJMT, part of the idea is that there ought never to be congestion in the tunnels themselves, with the collateral damage accepted. There are safety and emergency response motivations to metering traffic inside (Q&A).)

Plutonic Panda

Thank you for the insight to this mess. It should be noted that idling vehicles have an impact on environmentally sensitive areas just as widening freeways does.

Elm

#66
Some larger-scale future highway projects have come up in the news lately, with varying likelihoods of happening.



On the Jefferson Parkway: there's an anomalous soil sample, so things (namely, Broomfield deciding whether to contribute their share of funding for concessionaire procurement) is on hold until the final analysis is ready later this year.

In more detail, the Broomfield city council was going to talk about whether to provide their share of JP procurement funding this month. Midway through last month, the first test (but not the second) of one of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority's soil samples showed abnormally high plutonium levels; the JPPHA put out a statement about it, and the analysis process continued.

Gradually, that popped up in the news. This past Sunday, Broomfield announced they wouldn't talk about the JP, except about funding the soil testing, and that the JPPHA would wait on word from the health department before taking further action. That became somewhat more colorful in the news, but there were some revisions and clarifications as well.

At any rate, unexpectedly contaminated soil would preclude building the JP, at least next to Rocky Flats. (I guess Arvada could try to build their southern part, where the soil was seemingly clean enough for residential development.) Seems reasonable. More annoying if the complaints from the Leyden Rock neighborhood, where everyone had to sign an acknowledgement of the JP, lead to Broomfield–a separate city–cutting off procurement.



Down in Colorado Springs, there's news on Powers Boulevard projects:


  • the first phase of the extension to I-25 (a little freeway from I-25 to Voyager, actually separate from the existing Powers) could start this fall. The theoretical next steps are approving more funding (again) for it on the 10th, approve IGAs late this month, and giving the notice to proceed on October 1.
  • Powers/Research interchange project could start next year if CDOT finds $40 million. They've advanced to the pretty graphics fact sheet portion of planning.

Mark68

It seems to me kind of silly that there would be "unexpectedly contaminated soil" near Rocky Flats. I would EXPECT the soil near Rocky Flats to be contaminated.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."~Yogi Berra

Elm

Quote from: Mark68 on September 06, 2019, 11:33:52 AM
It seems to me kind of silly that there would be "unexpectedly contaminated soil" near Rocky Flats. I would EXPECT the soil near Rocky Flats to be contaminated.

The unexpected part isn't so much that the soil is contaminated, but how high the concentration of plutonium in the sample was. The "˜cleanup standard' for Rocky Flats is 50 picocuries/gram, and the first test of the sample came back at 264 pCi/g. (The second test reported 1.5 pCi/g.)

Looking at some older test summaries (here), it seems like their expectations for the buffer zone, where the Jefferson Parkway would be, are around 1.1 pCi/g, and results usually fall in the range of 0.9-10 pCi/g (with a high of 49 pCi/g).

zzcarp

Quote from: Elm on September 06, 2019, 12:21:04 AM

At any rate, unexpectedly contaminated soil would preclude building the JP, at least next to Rocky Flats. (I guess Arvada could try to build their southern part, where the soil was seemingly clean enough for residential development.) Seems reasonable. More annoying if the complaints from the Leyden Rock neighborhood, where everyone had to sign an acknowledgement of the JP, lead to Broomfield–a separate city–cutting off procurement.

The current Broomfield council is not known for their sound planning decisions. They denied a permit for a Kum-and-Go gas station partially on the grounds that the name sounds pornographic.

Re the Jefferson Parkway, I am glad the construction is delayed for the moment. There are other transportation priorities taking short shrift for a toll road that has no freeway connections at either end and few ways to access it.
So many miles and so many roads

The High Plains Traveler

It looks like CDOT has "completed" U.S. 50 Business in Pueblo. Previously, the route was marked as far west as the I-25 Santa Fe Avenue exit south of downtown, where it turned north along Santa Fe Avenue. No route signage existed north of that point, but Santa Fe is part of route 50C (state route log nomenclature for the route) as far north as 4th Street (CO 96)*. So, there was a gap in signage of Biz 50 between the U.S. 50 East/La Junta interchange and the Santa Fe exit along I-25. But, there has also been a project to replace much of the signage along I-25 between New Mexico and Monument, and in the past couple of weeks, new reassurance markers have popped up along I-25 in Pueblo. Now, between the City Center (old 1st Street) exit and the U.S. 50 interchange, Business U.S. 50 is marked alongside I-25. Because of continuing construction, I can't tell for sure what the south end of Biz 50 signage on the freeway will be. But it's weird to see it there on the freeway.

*Using CO 96 to connect marked Biz 50 to I-25 is problematic, because there is no interchange at 4th St. Traffic has to follow city streets to reach the on/offramps at 5th and 6th St.
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."

rte66man

Quote from: Elm on September 06, 2019, 12:21:04 AM
Some larger-scale future highway projects have come up in the news lately, with varying likelihoods of happening.

Down in Colorado Springs, there's news on Powers Boulevard projects:


  • the first phase of the extension to I-25 (a little freeway from I-25 to Voyager, actually separate from the existing Powers) could start this fall. The theoretical next steps are approving more funding (again) for it on the 10th, approve IGAs late this month, and giving the notice to proceed on October 1.
  • Powers/Research interchange project could start next year if CDOT finds $40 million. They've advanced to the pretty graphics fact sheet portion of planning.


Got a 404 error when I clicked on the "pretty graphics" link.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

The Ghostbuster

Since they recently added exit numbers to the CO-470 freeway, maybe the US 36 Buffalo Highway (formerly the Denver-Boulder Turnpike) should get exit numbers next. The Baseline Road interchange could be Exit 0 or 1, or if going by the mileage of US 36, Exit 37.

Elm

Quote from: rte66man on October 17, 2019, 01:49:50 PMGot a 404 error when I clicked on the "pretty graphics" link.

Hm, that's annoying; fixed the link (also here). Originally, the file name used "Rockrimmon"  instead of "Research,"  but apparently someone noticed and fixed it.

Plutonic Panda

I had another observation exploring Denver... the Northwest Parkway has no controlled direct connection to Boulder Tollroad. Why is that and is an interchange planned?



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