Crews this will start an ambitious repair project on I-270 forcing detours on to I-25 and I-70 this weekend, but the work won’t be as massive as motorists were originally told.
Starting this Friday and continuing until Sept. 24 ata 5:30 a.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation will resurface and make other safety improvements to I-270 by completely closing eastbound I-270 between I-76 and I-70.
The closures will allow crews to pave, repair shoulders and make some grade improvements, said CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
Motorists will be detoured to I-25 and then I-70.
A similar weekend closure of westbound I-270 between I-70 and I-76 is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 5, weather permitting, Stegman said.
CDOT knows the road work will be an inconvenience, Stegman said. But it won’t be as bad as electronic roadsigns have made it out to be, she said.
The road signs — managed by CDOT and hang over interstates in the Denver-area — on Monday made it seem that all of I-270, along with I-76 and I-70 would be closed.
“It was just some bad wording,” Stegman said, adding the signs were changed to be more accurate.
CDOT has already repaired multiple bridge decks along eastbound and westbound I-270 to improve the roadway surface, said CDOT Resident Engineer Neil Lacey.
The $4.1 million project expands on last year’s improvements by paving a mile of I-270, repairing shoulders and eliminating the “roller coaster” effect that motorists experience when traveling I-270, Lacey said.
The project is scheduled to wrap up next spring.
The following improvements to both eastbound and westbound I-270 are planned:
• Rotomil and pave 3 miles of I-270 between just south of Dahlia and I-76.
• Correct the profile of the roadway between the South Platte River and Colorado Highway 265 to eliminate small hills and the “roller coaster” for motorists.
• Rotomil and pave several bridge decks on I-270 and make minor repairs to the bridge over Vasquez Boulevard.
• Repair the badly potholed inside and outside shoulders and resurface the shoulders south of Dahlia Street and pave the existing rutted concrete pavement.
• Remove and replace damaged guardrails throughout the project.
• Install ramp metering at the ramp from westbound Vasquez Boulevard to westbound I-270 to help regulate the flow of traffic during peak hours.
For weekly lane closure information, visit CDOT’s
.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/montewhaley
