July 2, 2008
SH 65 NORTH GRAND MESA REPAIRS NEARING COMPLETION
No Work Over Holiday, Highway to Remain Open at Night
MESA COUNTY – Work is nearing completion on repairs to a section of damaged highway on SH 65 on the north side of Grand Mesa. A 175-foot section of the southbound lane, at mile marker 37.5 (about 4 miles south of Powderhorn Ski Area) had sunk due to an embankment slide below the roadway. This damaged was initially coned off in June 2007. CDOT contracted the repair project to American Civil Constructors, Inc., of Littleton, for $1.7 million and work got underway in August of 2007.
To date, crews have removed roadway material in the southbound lane and constructed a soil nail wall (reinforced “nails” of concrete and steel driven into the slope and covered with a concrete wall) and a mechanically stabilized earth wall (soil and geotextile material layered to create reinforcement) against the embankment below the highway. Impermeable membrane will also be placed under the slide area and to the north of the damaged section to direct ground water to a culvert. The section was filled and approximately 600 feet of the highway will now be repaved. About 175 feet of new guardrail will be installed.
NO WORK DURING HOLIDAY: There will be no work starting this afternoon through Sunday, July 6. On Monday, July 7, work will resume, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. Expect delays of up to 30 minutes. The project is expected to be completed by July 18. Traffic control will be directed by flaggers during these daytime hours only. Two-way traffic will be restored each night and on Sundays.
For more information on state highway projects across Colorado, log on to www.cotrip.org or call 511 from anywhere in the state. Thank you for going “Slow for the Cone Zone!”
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