Warm weather is back, and with it, the familiar collage of construction cones and heavy machinery.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced details about the more than 30 construction projects planned for the metro area during the summer season — the most vexing of which will be in the Interstate 25 corridor through Denver.
The projects will cost nearly $386 million, paid for by a combination of federal, state and local funds, said CDOT’s regional transportation director, Reza Akhavan.
“We’re getting the dollars back on the streets as quickly as possible,” Akhavan said. “But when we do this as quickly as possible, there is going to be an impact.”
Crews have begun some projects. Work schedules will vary depending on factors such as traffic flow and location.
Some expansive projects, such as replacing bridges and widening roadways, are expected to last several years.
For example, crews will replace the Federal Boulevard bridge over West Colfax Avenue with a wider one that includes 8-foot-wide sidewalks.
That project is expected to last until August 2013 and cost about $8.6 million.
Simpler projects, such as replacing traffic signals, could be finished by midsummer or early fall.
While the projects will affect dozens of major roadways, the biggest headache for drivers will be in the I-25 corridor, through which more than 200,000 vehicles pass daily, Akhavan said.
To the north, crews are replacing the 84th Avenue bridge over I-25. The new bridge will have an additional left-turn lane from eastbound 84th to northbound I-25.
Work will continue at I-25 and Alameda Avenue, where crews are widening a bridge. Crews have completed the north and center portions of the span. Full closures are still necessary for overhead bridgework.
A tentative start date has been set in July for bridge work at I-25 over Santa Fe Drive. Crews will build a flyover ramp from northbound Santa Fe to northbound I-25. Once completed, I-25 will have four lanes in each direction through Denver from C-470 to U.S. 36.
Crews are expected to begin work in April to replace the I-25 bridge over the South Platte River, also known as the “Broncos Arch” bridge.
The first of the four projects will be completed in June 2012 and the last in August 2013. They will cost about $121.2 million.
Denver police will monitor some of the projects with photo radar, in an effort to help keep work zones free of speedy drivers.
CDOT also recapped its winter maintenance program.
From July 2010 through last month, crews spent about $5 million on snow removal, 26 percent less than the previous year.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
Know before you go
Drivers can sign up for text and e-mail alerts about the summer construction projects at CDOT’s website,
