Two Repaving Projects to Impact Summer Traffic

If it’s summertime in Southwest Colorado you can expect orange traffic cones to blossom along Colorado roadways. You’re watching the local news network brought to you by Choice Building Supply ACE hardware and Keesee Motors. I’m, Wendy Graham Settle. Two big repaving projects in and around Cortez are expected to cause traffic delays this summer. Although contractors are expected to work during off peak traffic hours. The first will be a heater repaving project on US highway 491 from a half mile South of road G to McElmo street. Heater repaving also be applied East and West of the Colorado highway 145 junction, between Mildred street and the fun center. The heater repaving method heats, remixes, and recycles the top one and a half inches of existing asphalt, followed by an application of one and a half inches of new asphalt on the recycled surface. Traffic controls will be in place during construction but no lane closures will occur from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, during afternoon peak traffic hours. The East Cortez project also will include ADA ramp upgrades. The second project will repair the concrete paving on main street without rebuilding the entire surface.

As traffic gets on the pavement over a period of time the surface gets to get a little bit slick, um and because of wear and tear and what the diamond grind does; It’s a series of true diamond saw blades all close together about four foot wide, and it runs through and takes off about an eighth of an inch of the top surface and actually puts a groove surface back into the roadway and increases the friction on the roadway, better traction.

A similar concrete rehabilitation project occurred on main Avenue in Durango in 2017. Most work on main street will be conducted during off-peak travel hours. Although some lane closures will occur. Grinding will be conducted at night. To learn more about travel delays and lane closures, visit ciotrip.org. Thanks for watching this edition of the local news network covering Montezuma, LaPlata, Archuleta, and San Miguel counties in Southwest Colorado and Farmington in Northwest New Mexico. I’m Wendy Graham Settle.