Permanent flood repairs to Colo. 72 to start Monday

BOULDER — A $7 million project to permanently repair road damage from the 2013 flood will begin Monday along Colorado Highway 72 through Coal Creek Canyon in Boulder County, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.

Motorists can expect the roadway to be resurfaced and restriped by the end of October. Golden-based APC Construction is the general contractor for the project.

Work will occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to CDOT spokesman Jared Fiel. Lane closures and lane shifts may occur throughout the course of the project as necessary, he said. The speed limit will be reduced to 40 miles per hour through the work zone at all times until the project is completed.

The section of Colorado 72 begins at Colorado 93 between Boulder and Golden, and goes up the canyon through Wondervu and Pinecliffe to Nederland. A number of private residences and businesses are located throughout the canyon and directly off the highway.

During the flood of September 2013, intense rain in the mountainous terrain of the Coal Creek watershed carried large amounts of debris and sediment, which inundated the creek and the highway’s roadside ditches. The creek’s high flows eroded the highway embankments in several places, undermining and washing out the roadway itself. The debris blocked drainage structures, which caused overtopping floodwaters to damage pavement, ditches and embankments.

Emergency repairs along the corridor consisted of large-scale debris removal, repairing or replacing damaged drainage structures, excavation and filling of damaged embankments, and removing and replacing asphalt sections. The permanent repairs will include removing and replacing materials placed during emergency repairs, culvert and roadway repairs, slope stabilization and channel restoration. Native grass will be reseeded and erosion-control measures will be taken on slopes that were disturbed during the emergency work.

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