DENVER — After one of the most intense winters in years, many of Colorado's roads were significantly damaged and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is now preparing to make some permanent repairs.
CDOT said because warmer temperatures have melted snow from roads, crews can begin to make those long-term repairs. CDOT is investing additional funds that were received in April to address road damage.
Last winter, Colorado saw the second-most number of days with snowfall requiring road treatment, CDOT reported.
About $17.6 million will go to two emergency projects and $7.4 million will be managed by CDOT's Division of Maintenance and Operations to reimburse local maintenance teams, CDOT said.
The emergency projects include a stretch of Interstate 70 east of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels and US 40 on the north side of Berthoud Pass. Crews have been working on temporary fixes for the latter during the freeze-thaw cycles, but the roads are still deteriorating, CDOT said.
On May 19, Denver7 went out to Berthoud Pass to see the damage for ourselves after receiving multiple tips about the pothole issues.
The owner of a towing company in nearby Fraser said calls for flat tires along Berthoud Pass are through the roof, describing it as a very dangerous situation.
Local
Drivers say the potholes on Berthoud Pass are the worst they've ever been
Elise Thatcher, spokesperson with CDOT, said $11 million will go towards Berthoud Pass repairs.
CDOT is using emergency contacts with private construction contractors for both the US 40 and I-70 projects.
In addition, 10 other sections of road will receive funding for repair projects, CDOT said. It's not yet clear if CDOT crews will work on these fixes or if they will be contracted out to private construction firms.
In total, these are the 12 stretches of roadway that will undergo repairs:
- US Highway 40 (Berthoud Pass): Contracted construction project
- I-70 (Eisenhower Tunnel to Georgetown): Contracted construction project
- I-70 (east side of Vail Pass to Frisco): Contracted construction project - maintenance managed
- I-76 (Eastbound in Denver): On-call contract
- US Highway 50 (north of Lamar): Maintenance staff
- Colorado Highway 151 (east of Ignacio): Maintenance staff
- I-70 (east of Parachute): Maintenance staff
- Colorado Highway 94 (east of Colorado Springs): Maintenance staff
- Colorado Highway 257 (north of Windsor): Maintenance staff
- US Highway 160 (La Veta Pass): Maintenance staff
- Colorado Highway 125 (north of Granby): Contracted construction project - maintenance managed
- US Highway 350 (between Trinidad and La Junta): Maintenance staff
The $25 million investment into the projects "will allow CDOT to address urgent pavement condition issues without having to delay any planned projects or maintenance work scheduled for the coming months," CDOT said.
The department's summer maintenance and construction will continue as planned.
