Picketwire Crossing Project Set to Start
Project hours are Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drivers can expect traffic stops up to 15 minutes as flaggers alternate traffic through the work zone while a temporary detour is built parallel to the bridge.
The one-lane detour is scheduled to open to traffic in late December. A signal then will alternate northbound and southbound traffic through the work zone about every two minutes. Vehicles wider than 14 feet will not be allowed to travel on the detour.
In addition to removing the old structure and placement of a new concrete box culvert, the project includes new asphalt pavement and guardrails.
The bridge is scheduled for completion in April 2013.
“This crossing was built in 1930 and it’s in poor condition and functionally obsolete,” said CDOT Project Engineer Steve Spera. “Safety will be enhanced since the crossover will have wider shoulders where it’s currently a narrow section of roadway.”
Tezak Heavy Equipment Co. Inc., of Caňon City, Colo., is the project contractor.
In addition to replacing the structure on SH 239, the project includes replacing a bridge on U.S. 350, eight miles northeast of Beshoar Junction (U.S. 160). CDOT will distribute additional information before that phase gets underway in early 2013.
FASTER – Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery – is fully funding the $2.2 million project. Financed by vehicle registration fees, FASTER established a Statewide Bridge Enterprise, funding the maintenance and repair of Colorado’s most urgent structurally-deficient and functionally-obsolete bridges. More information is available at:www.coloradodot.info/programs/BridgeEnterprise
Updated information regarding traffic impacts on this or other CDOT projects is available atwww.coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html or by calling 511. To receive project updates via e-mail, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the cell-phone icon in the upper right-hand corner. The link takes you to a list of items you can subscribe to, including Southeast Colorado.
