John Scarffe, Boulder County. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and its contractor Zak Dirt hosted a one-hour long telephone conference to give information to commuters and residents about upcoming highway reconstruction activities on Highway 119, Boulder Canyon Drive, on March 21, 2019 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Starting March 2019, construction begins on a 15-mile stretch between Boulder and Nederland, according to a news release. The project is designed to remove the temporary repairs made after the storms in 2013 with permanent and more long-term repairs.

Staff on the telephone conference told listeners that maps will be available to explain the project and expected delays, and they will post updates on the CDOT website next week. Click on the projects link under region 4. https://cotrip.org/map.htm#/roadWork.

This is an upgrade along the highway on 119 and widening the highway. It has been made possible by a $30 million grant that will be spent on two sections of the highway, which will be widened between the Boulder City limits and Highway 119, according to staff during the conference call. It will remove 12 feet of the mountain.

Plans call for resurfacing the entire highway and improving the roundabout in Nederland. The Boulder Canyon trail will be extended from Chapman Drive to Four Mile Canyon Road.

Engineers said it will involve 20 months of work and commuters will be impacted with multiple single lane and sometimes full closures. They will be blasting from April to August, which will improve drainage and will have three or more parts of the Canyon impacted.

Extended single-lane closures will be controlled by lights and will add 15 minutes to the drive. The schedule will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. From 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. two areas will be excavated, so they recommend planning. The project is anticipated to run 20 months, and they are not planning on working Saturdays, Sundays or during the night.
Responding to about five telephone calls, staff said the majority of blasting is contained in one and one-half miles of the canyon, and for this reason, drivers will be able to access Four Mile Canyon, but there will be closures below Four Mile. Five areas below Four Mile will be blasting zones with one small area first. It should be done by late April.

CDOT engineers said they are working with emergency response folks, and they will have no way to get through when the Canyon is 100 percent closed for blasting. They can’t take the risks, and they will be given first priority. When they are blasting, no traffic will be coming through.

The Canyon won’t be closed to bicyclists, but they will have to jump in with cars. Engineers are very concerned they won’t be able to keep up with cars, but with posted signs, they are discouraging bikes from riding up the canyon and strongly suggest you not use that road.

Also during this time, construction will be ongoing on Highway 72, which will experience one-lane road closures but not any blasting or hard closures. In Boulder Canyon, hikers will be able to park their car and go climbing. They will have access to trailheads, but parking will be a little more limited.

Staff is working with RTD and in contact with them and looking at detour routes. They may or may not cancel some buses but are working with them. RTD will send out a rider alert and plans to use a detour route. They will run behind schedule. RTD encourages you to sign up for the route you want.
Regarding wildlife and loss of habitat, Boulder Canyon is a corridor for foxes, bobcats, deer and elk. Staff said they are very cognizant of wildlife, but they will only be impacting roadways and drainage ways and culverts won’t be impacted.

Their biggest concern is disturbing eagles in the Canyon, so they have been working with Parks and Wildlife to keep from within half a mile of their nesting sites. A wildlife biologist is involved in the project, and Parks and Wildlife are aware of the eagles and where they live. They have looked at geography, topography and where the nests are located, and nests will not be disturbed by the noise and blasting.

Staff will communicate on Thursdays the schedules and which days they are planning to be blasting, on the project webpage and CDOT co-trip shared with Google, which is available by Friday.

More information can help with planning by calling 303-465-5898 and a project manager will get back to you. Visit the CDOT webpage at co-trip and click on the road work link, https://cotrip.org/home.htm.

(Originally published in the April 4, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)