The Colorado Department of Transportation is rehabilitating a section of U.S. Highway 160 near Aztec Creek, west of the junction with U.S. Highway 491 between mile points 11 and 18 on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.
The project is an extension of work completed last season, between mile points 7.5 and 11, for a contract amount of $6.5 million, according to a statement from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
This current phase of work, contracted to SEMA for $11.1 million, also involves significant drainage improvements to reduce erosion; minor highway widening to 12-foot travel lanes and 8-foot shoulders to meet federal safety standards; roadway realignment to reduce the horizontal curves; roadway leveling to lessen vertical curves (hills); and finally, a full-depth reclamation of the 6-mile section of roadway, according to the transportation department. This consists of grinding the existing asphalt down to a dirt surface, recycling the material for use as the roadway base, and laying a new 4-inch asphalt surface. The project will wrap up in September.
Work is being completed seven days a week, with scheduled four-day breaks in production; this schedule will not continue in the higher traffic summer season, however. For current travel planning, motorists should anticipate 15-minute delays, seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For updates to this and other project schedules, the public can sign up to receive email and/or wireless notifications by going to the transportation departments website at www.coloradodot.info and selecting the green phone icon in the upper right corner. Travelers can also get project information by logging on to www.cotrip.org or calling 511 from anywhere in the state.