Woodland Park working on 4 of 5 planned road projects before winter weather arrives
TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Crews are racing the calendar to make as much progress as possible on several infrastructure projects this fall and hoping to finish some, if not most, of them.
The biggest project is a major reconstruction of Lake Avenue, a mile-long residential street that connects Rampart Range Road to the east to Highway 67 on the west, and is one of the few streets that are continuous across town.
According to the town's public works website, the project began in August with crews removing the old pavement - leaving the dirt underneath.
"We should get it repaved pretty quickly, before winter weather sets in," a passing construction supervisor told KRDO 13's The Road Warrior Tuesday.
Residents of homes along Lake said that after dealing with dust created by the project during recent dry weather, they now face the possibility of mud from rain or snow forecasted for Teller County; much of the area is at an elevation of 8,400 feet or above.
The project requires traffic to detour around Lake - near the middle and high schools - and pass through the downtown area.
Bob and April Ecker live along the avenue and, like their fellow neighbors, wait for the repaving.
"We like the quiet right now, with no traffic," they said. "The new road will be good because it'll be smoother than the old road. How bad was the old road? It was pretty bumpy."
However, Brice Reid -- who owns a business along the avenue -- has mixed feelings.
"If it needs to be done, it needs to be done," he said. "But it is a hassle. I just wish they could… there are certain days when I don't see anybody out there working. They might be on the other side, or something. I didn't even get any advance notice about this project. It seems like other streets are in worse shape."
The avenue project includes new concrete gutters, curbs, sidewalks and corner ramps that meet federal standards for the disabled; some drainage improvements will be part of the work, as well.
Crews have also started working on the length of Dewell Road, covering a few blocks south of Lake; town officials said that the planned repaving of nearby Pine Ridge Avenue likely will have to wait until next spring.
As if all that work wasn't enough, crews are working on two more projects: Widening and repaving Highway 67 between Valley View Drive and Lovell Gulch Road on the north end of town; and repairing the paved Centennial Trail adjacent to the highway.
Those projects, however, are expected to be finished soon.
