I-25 South Gap Project Monument to Castle Rock

Transcription

1 I-25 South Gap Project Monument to Castle Rock Project Overview Castle Rock Town Council April 3, 2018 by Chuck Attardo

2 I-25 South: Monument to C-470 An Important Corridor to Colorado Links the state s two major metropolitan areas Critical to Colorado s economic and business development No major widening in last 60 years Congestion extends from weekday to weekend and negatively impacts business, residents, and open space recreation

3 What is CDOT doing? Fall 2016 CDOT started a Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) Study for 34 miles of I-25 from Monument to Lone Tree January 2017 CDOT announced acceleration of an Environmental Assessment (EA) process for the 18 mi GAP May 2017 SB 267 passes and CDOT commits to an accelerated EA and November 2018 construction - interim solution only.

4 What is the Gap? The Gap is an 18-mile section of I-25 south of Castle Rock to just north of Monument The Gap Narrow shoulders, SB hill, 11% trucks, 75 mph with curves, poor lighting High AVCs, sensitive open space, Preble s, historic resources

5 Purpose and Need I-25 South Gap EA Enhance safety, reduce delays, and improve reliability for travel on I-25 through the 18-mile, 4-lane bottleneck (the Gap) between Colorado Springs and the Denver South region. Improvements are needed on I-25 to: Improve safety Incident management, enforcement, and maintenance Mobility Improve travel reliability What s a purpose and need? A purpose and need is a guiding statement that provides focus and clarity to the project. It clearly states the problems the project is meant to address and defines the criteria a project needs to meet to be successful. This helps CDOT to identify an alternative that works and to weed out those that don t, resulting in an effective project and efficient use of funding.

6 Improve Safety and Reduce Crashes Average of a crash each day Crashes, including injuries and fatalities, consistently increased over past 5 years Higher than expected crashes occur due to weather, wildlife conflicts, and darkness Aggressive and distracted driving consistent law enforcement and public concern

7 Enhance Incident Management, Enforcement, and Maintenance No safe place to stage operations or move vehicles out of travel lanes Narrow shoulders and barriers adjacent to the roadway Long distances between interchanges Lack of emergency detours and alternate routes Lane and even full highway closures result in significant travel delays We need drivers to follow the directions of the emergency responders so we can clear the blocked stuck cars and jackknifed semis and reopen the highway. Mike Trost Colorado Emergency Management

8 Need to Improve Travel Delays - I-25 Peak Period Average Travel Times Between C-105 (Exit 160) and Plum Creek Pkwy (Exit 181) (minutes) Weekday Northbound 6:30-9:00 AM Weekday Southbound 3:00-7:00 PM Friday Southbound 3:00-7:00 PM Sunday Northbound 11:30 AM-3:00 PM 2017 No Build 3 GP Lanes Express Lanes GP Lanes Only Express Lanes in the Gap No Build 3 GP Lanes Express Lanes GP Lanes Only Express Lanes in the Gap

9 Improve Travel Reliability Travel through the gap often takes 20 minutes but sometimes can take several hours With no alternate routes available, there is no easy relief Emergency detours on local roads many unpaved not equipped for interstate traffic

10 How does CDOT plan to improve Gap? Before After Nearly double the corridor pavement

11 Project Elements I-25 South Gap EA Add one travel lane NB and SB 18 miles between Monument and Castle Rock Address bottleneck Balance lane capacity Widen shoulders for safety & incidents Disabled vehicle recovery Enforcement Maintenance Emergency detours Widen or reconstruct structures and pavement Construct / improve wildlife crossings Install supporting infrastructure Walls, lighting, concrete barrier, guardrail, fencing, signage ITS and communication equipment

12 Why consider an Express Lane? Colorado can t build itself out of congestion anymore

13 How would Express Lanes work in the Gap? A new Express Lane would be added in each direction that would be tolled existing general purpose lanes would be free. Toll revenues collected are reinvested in the corridor for operations and maintenance. Tolls would not sunset because they are needed to deliver a congestion management solution and provide a reliable travel time in the Express Lane.

14 A closer look Shoulder GP Lane GP Lane Express Lane Shoulder 2 General Purpose lanes in each direction always FREE 1 Express Lane with variable toll in each direction to offer trip reliability Travel Reliability: Express Lanes

15 How was funding identified for the Gap? Total of $350 million preliminarily identified for the Gap project: $250 million State funds conditionally approved $15 million El Paso County voter approved measure $10 million Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority (PPRTA) voter approved measure $15,000,000, 4% $10,000,000, 3% $65,000,000, 19% $350 Million $10,000,000, 3% $250,000,000, 71% State Federal El Paso PPRTA Douglas $10 million Douglas County approved $65 million INFRA federal grant from USDOT (decision expected in spring of 2018)

16 Current Project Schedule Public hearing and EA review May 15, 2018 NEPA Decision Document July 13, 2018 Complete Final Design Summer 2018 Construction begins November 2018 or sooner Construct within existing right-of-way Construction contractor on board and ready to mobilize as soon as summer 2018 This is most aggressive schedule ever by CDOT for delivery of a large project

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18 How can public get more information on the Gap project? Communications Tools: Website/survey Project Project hotline (719) Other social media outlets Facebook, Twitter May 15, 2018 Public Hearing, Douglas County Event Center

19 Questions?