Summer Means Highway Construction

2/24/2021

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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