Durango parent and driver Shelly Nij is miffed as to why the Colorado Department of Transportation began several construction projects near the end of summer, just as schools are returning from summer break and traffic is picking up on area roads.
Nij said it took an extra 25 to 30 minutes to drop off one child at Escalante Middle School and two children at Durango High School on the first and second days of school.
“The third day I decided to try and reroute ourselves and go down Florida Road, which, by that time, a lot of us had that same plan,” she said. “... So there’s nowhere to avoid it in the morning.”
She questions why CDOT can’t do its paving projects during the middle of the night when there is less traffic.
“That time of day is just ridiculous to be out there when that much traffic is coming into Durango from Bayfield, Ignacio – all over,” she said.
CDOT said it acquires its hot-mix asphalt from a local vendor, but the vendor is limited on its night operations because it is located in a residential part of the county. So the inability to get asphalt at night prevents nighttime work in some cases, said Dusty Ledford, area maintenance supervisor for CDOT.
He noted work crews were able to request material delivery from the hot plant for three nights, which it used on the paving project on South Camino del Rio near the Dominguez Drive intersection, “where traffic impacts would be most significant.”
It also costs more to do construction at night, because maintenance workers are paid an additional 7.5% for night work and lighting equipment must be used.
But a CDOT spokeswoman said cost has nothing to do with the decision to do paving during the day; rather, it was based solely on when CDOT could acquire hot-mix asphalt.
CDOT has several paving and repair projects in the works this week and one next week, including:
- Paving operations on South Camino del Rio (U.S. Highway 550/160) near Home Depot. Paving of the westbound lanes has been completed, but recent rains hampered progress on the eastbound lanes, according to a CDOT news release. The work was scheduled to have wrapped up Tuesday, this week.
- Paving on Wednesday and Thursday at the intersection of Colorado Highway 3 and Larry Valdez Way.
“Motorists may encounter intermittent stops to allow crews to work within the intersection,” the release says. “Travelers may consider avoiding this intersection and using an alternate route.”
- Signal repair work from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at Trimble Lane and U.S. Highway 550 about 5 miles north of Durango.
“A portable light signal will provide traffic control through the intersection and speed will be reduced to 40 mph while work is being done,” the release says.
- Crews are also working again on Camino del Rio, where a major median project that lasted several months last year and resumed this spring had all but wrapped up. No further information was immediately available about the additional work that is being done.
- A permanent repair of the U.S. Highway 160 bridge over the Animas River near the DoubleTree intersection will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 6-9.
CDOT completed a temporary repair of the bridge last month by installing steel road plates over the expansion joint. Crews will next cut a new 1-inch groove into the concrete surface and add a urethane fill on top of the expansion joint.
“This permanent repair will increase the life of the bridge structure and improve the road surface by allowing the concrete surface to naturally expand and contract,” the release says.
Drivers traveling both directions will encounter lane shifts through the work zone. However, significant delays can be expected at the intersection as a result of congestion.
shane@durangoherald.com
