Jerry from Denver writes, “What is driving you crazy? What evil thing has Alameda done at I-25? They have been working on this overpass and street for at least ten years. It will never be done.”
Erran from Denver writes, “What is driving you crazy? Alameda/Santa Fe/I-25. This project has been going on longer than Broadway & Mississippi. It's been a nightmare with closures, traffic, extremely poor signage, delays, etc.... This project along with Broadway & Mississippi has made travel for the neighborhoods so tough!!!”
Juliet from Denver writes, “What is driving you crazy? Will the construction at Santa Fe and Alameda ever be done? It's a nightmare, and with the additional construction on Mississippi too, it's very hard to get in and out of my neighborhood (Athmar Park)! Among other things, there used to be two left turn lanes from eastbound Alameda to northbound Santa Fe (and thus to I-25 North). During the construction, there is just one, and traffic is backed up for blocks on a regular basis. Terribly frustrating!”
I agree Juliet, the length of this project has been terribly frustrating. Right after I published my update about the work at Broadway and Mississippi I was flooded with questions about the work that is still going on at Alameda/Santa Fe & I-25.
Let me start with the good news. The project will ultimately be completed by the end of May. The bad news is we will have to suffer through some more lane closures and traffic jams as the contractor finishes the last parts of the project that are left to complete. CDOT tells me they will still need to have daily lane closures for the next few months, however, once the pipe work, the new subgrade, and new asphalt is laid down the lane closures will end.
The contractor tells me they are shifting into the 7th and final traffic phase of the project tonight. There will still be a lot of lane closures during the day for the next several months. They promise though, it will feel much better as more lanes become available. Most of the work you will see include building the islands and medians. This will allow the workers to take down the temporary signal poles and span wire through the intersections. Once these poles are gone the contractor will be able to finish sidewalks and cleanup work in the intersections.
One part of the work that you probably don’t see from the street is the South Platte River bike trail. It will be opened for riders in a couple weeks. The Contractor will install the safety pedestrian rail and finish the river bank restoration next week. They say finishing that work will enable them to pour the last two sidewalk panels and open up the trail by the end of February at the latest.
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The last of the major full road closures will happen over the next couple of weekends. CDOT gave me a heads up that Alameda will be closed the weekends of February 24 and March 3. During both of these weekends, CDOT will need to fully close down westbound Alameda traffic from Cherokee to Santa Fe. This work is of course weather dependent.
The other major parts of the project that are left to finish includes rebuilding the Home Depot entrance on the access road. That will be completed by next month. The water quality pond adjacent to Santa Fe and the southbound I-25 ramp will be done by the beginning of April. The final paving on Alameda, Kalamath and Santa Fe is scheduled in late April or early May and striped by the end of May. The last of the landscaping work should also be done by the end of May.
CDOT says they want to do some more work in here but not until 2020. So let’s enjoy the next three years of a construction free commute in that area while we can.
Denver7 traffic anchor Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 20 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebookand Twitter or listen to hisDriving You Crazy podcast.