Print
E-mail
Comment
E-470 expansion in county to begin in May
Warmer weather marks the beginning of the road construction season, and the segment of E-470 that runs through Douglas County will see its share of orange cones.
By By: Jennifer Simonson
Warmer weather marks the beginning of the road construction season, and the segment of E-470 that runs through Douglas County will see its share of orange cones.
With the final segment of the 47-mile toll road completed in January, the E-470 Public Highway Authority is going back to its roots in Douglas County to start its first major road expansion project.
Constructed in two phases, the road will be widened from two to three lanes from Interstate 25 to Parker Road.
The first phase will begin in May to widen the road from I-25 to the toll plaza just east of Peoria Street, said the authority's executive director Ed DeLozier. The project should be complete in October.
The E-470 Public Highway Authority Board approved April 24 a bid from Lawrence Construction for $2.8 million to build the additional northbound and southbound lanes and expand the Peoria bridge to handle the road's full buildout of eight lanes.
The contract also includes applying a layer of asphalt to the existing four lanes.
"The asphalt on there is about 12 years old, so we are going to lay fresh asphalt to improve the lanes," he said.
Next year, the authority board will begin bidding out the second widening phase from the toll plaza to Parker Road, bring E-470 to six lanes from I-25 to Parker Road.
The additional lane will be used as an Xpress Toll lane because of the popularity of the electronic toll collector.
A traffic study stated that the additional lanes would not be needed until at least 2005, but the board wanted to ensure that the road was wide enough to prevent regular traffic jams.
"We wanted to stay ahead of the curve because if our customers can't do 70 mph on our road, they will not use it," DeLozier said.
Construction began April 21 for a northbound climbing lane from the entrance of Parker Road to Ireland Way. The additional lane will be almost a mile and a half long.
That segment of the road has a steep grade, making it difficult for some cars to merge into oncoming traffic while climbing the hill, DeLozier said.
For construction purposes, traffic will be diverted into one lane during nonpeak hours. The $500,000 project should be complete by the end of June.
With the final segment of the 47-mile toll road completed in January, the E-470 Public Highway Authority is going back to its roots in Douglas County to start its first major road expansion project.
Constructed in two phases, the road will be widened from two to three lanes from Interstate 25 to Parker Road.
The first phase will begin in May to widen the road from I-25 to the toll plaza just east of Peoria Street, said the authority's executive director Ed DeLozier. The project should be complete in October.
The E-470 Public Highway Authority Board approved April 24 a bid from Lawrence Construction for $2.8 million to build the additional northbound and southbound lanes and expand the Peoria bridge to handle the road's full buildout of eight lanes.
The contract also includes applying a layer of asphalt to the existing four lanes.
"The asphalt on there is about 12 years old, so we are going to lay fresh asphalt to improve the lanes," he said.
Next year, the authority board will begin bidding out the second widening phase from the toll plaza to Parker Road, bring E-470 to six lanes from I-25 to Parker Road.
The additional lane will be used as an Xpress Toll lane because of the popularity of the electronic toll collector.
A traffic study stated that the additional lanes would not be needed until at least 2005, but the board wanted to ensure that the road was wide enough to prevent regular traffic jams.
"We wanted to stay ahead of the curve because if our customers can't do 70 mph on our road, they will not use it," DeLozier said.
Construction began April 21 for a northbound climbing lane from the entrance of Parker Road to Ireland Way. The additional lane will be almost a mile and a half long.
That segment of the road has a steep grade, making it difficult for some cars to merge into oncoming traffic while climbing the hill, DeLozier said.
For construction purposes, traffic will be diverted into one lane during nonpeak hours. The $500,000 project should be complete by the end of June.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. |
