Closure of eastbound U.S. 24 through Ute Pass delayed
A plan to completely shutdown the eastbound lanes of U.S. 24 near Waldo Canyon this weekend has been delayed in anticipation of heavy holiday weekend traffic.
Construction workers are preparing to install an extra large concrete box culvert under the highway. The culvert, which is designed to carry excessive amounts of water, measures 24-feet wide and 10-feet high. It is ten times larger than the existing culvert.
The left lane of eastbound and westbound U.S. 24 will be closed at Waldo Canyon between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 13 and Friday, February 14.
Beginning on Tuesday, February 18, eastbound U.S. 24 will be closed and all traffic shifted to the westbound lanes — one lane in each direction. The highway will remain in this configuration for about two weeks, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When the eastbound side is complete, all traffic then will be moved to the eastbound lanes for another couple weeks, allowing construction to proceed on the westbound segment.
The speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph and vehicles wider than 12 feet will not be allowed to travel through the work zone.
“We anticipate a busy holiday weekend so we thought it would be best to move the closure until after President’s Day,” said CDOT Resident Engineer Dave Watt. “Delaying the work for a few days allows commuter and recreational traffic to flow smoothly to and from the mountains and we’ll still be able to complete the work in a timely manner.”
The project is scheduled for completion byApril 30, 2014.
