When the orange safety cones start popping up, you know it's summer, and this year will be no different when Camino del Rio undergoes a $4 million safety upgrade.
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Get ready to find an alternative
route from North Main
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to College Drive this summer.
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New median construction is
expected to impede traffic
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from June to December this year.
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You're watching the local news network.
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Brought to you by Tafoya
Barrett and Associates
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and the Payroll Department.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
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The Colorado Department of Transportation
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will begin a $4 million project
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to install new medians from 14th street
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to College Drive on Camino
Del Rio this summer.
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The reason why we're
doing it is to improve
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crash history.
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When we installed the
concrete median down by
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the DoubleTree, we reduced
crashes by about 45%.
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And, the volume of traffic
has actually increased
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by about 10% since then.
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The median in the highway
provides some friction,
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which tends to cause
people to drive slower.
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And then, it also limits
the turning movements
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that people can make
on and off the highway.
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They'll still be able
to make left-hand turns
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in specific locations, just
not across the entire corridor
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the way it's set up right now.
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Traffic flow will be
controlled to one northbound
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and southbound lane during construction.
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All light signals and pedestrian crossings
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also will be upgraded.
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However, don't expect a
new bridge or underpass
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at the controversial 12th
Street pedestrian crossing.
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Federal safety guidelines
say the street level
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crossing is fine for now.
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Unfortunately, we cannot install a signal,
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like a traditional
traffic signal here yet,
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because there's not enough
traffic on the side street.
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It's not warranted.
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We have to follow MUTCD,
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which is a federal highways document,
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before we can put a signal in.
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It has to meet criteria,
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and it doesn't meet that criteria yet.
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Camino Del Rio averages
30,000 car trips daily
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during winter and about
40,000 car trips in summer.
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Constan said that only four
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car pedestrian accidents have occurred
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at the 12th Street crossing
during the past 10 years.
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The same accident rate that has occurred
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at Camino Del Rio intersections
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with College Drive and Ninth Street.
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To follow progress and for
updates on traffic delays,
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visit the Colorado
Department of Transportation
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website at codot.gov.
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Thanks for watching this edition
of the local news network.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
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