The newly built tolled express lanes on C-470 across the south metro area are now open for testing, during which motorists can use the lanes for free.
The opening along a 12.5-mile stretch of the busy freeway comes four years after work began on the $276 million project -- and a year after the originally forecast completion period of spring 2019.
The project added two westbound toll lanes between Interstate 25 and South Colorado Boulevard across Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch and Littleton, and one westbound lane from Colorado to South Wadsworth Boulevard, near Chatfield Reservoir in Jefferson County.
Eastbound, a single lane was added from west of the South Platte River near Santa Fe Drive to I-25.
Crews also rebuilt much of the original pavement along the route, improved on- and off-ramps, widened or replaced bridges, added sound-barrier walls and straightened some curves, among other improvements.
The project was conceived as a way to address chronic commute-period traffic jams on the route, especially on the eastern stretch near I-25.
In 2016, when work began on the project, the Denver Regional Council of Governments said more than 100,000 vehicles were using the Wadsworth-to-1-25 segment of C-470, and those numbers were forecast to grow 40% by 2035.
At the eastern end, the route connects with the E-470 tollway.
As of June 14, the lanes in both directions were open for free use. The test period is expected to extend into mid-August, at which time tolls will be charged on the new lanes.
The existing C-470 general-purpose lanes -- two in each direction -- will continue to be free to use, but the Colorado Department of Transportation projects that travel on the new tolled lanes will be faster during congested periods.
Tolls will range from 65 cents to $3.60 along various segments of the route, depending on how far a driver travels and the time of day.
Motorists who don't already have an ExpressToll account are encouraged to get a pass at expresstoll.com before tolling begins in August. Tolls will automatically be deducted from the ExpressToll account when a driver uses the toll lanes.
Drivers without an ExpressToll account will be billed at a higher toll rate -- 40% higher or more, CDOT says. Cameras will snap images of drivers' license plates to identify who's using the lanes for billing purposes.
On C-470, there will be no free carpool use of the express lanes. But motorcyclists can ride free, CDOT says.
Motorists can enter and exit the express lanes only at designated entrances and exits marked with a dashed white line.
According to CDOT, the project was financed in part with $110.6 million in state and federal funding, and $10 million from Douglas County. The rest comes from loans to be repaid through tolls, the agency said.
The project was designed and built by a partnership of Broomfield-based Flatiron Construction Corp. and Los Angeles-based AECOM.
Two years after work began, the state and the contractors agreed to extend the completion date from spring 2019 to August of that year. When the new deadline arrived, completion was delayed again, with the contractors citing bad-weather challenges and CDOT at one point holding the contractors in default.
During the lengthy construction period, motorists had to contend with narrow, twisting lanes and, in some cases, fast mergers into freeway traffic from shortened on-ramps. Media accounts reported complaints of gravel on the roadway.
Much of the construction work took place at night, and residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the route could hear beeping equipment and other noise as the project progressed.
"open" - Google News
June 15, 2020 at 01:06AM
https://ift.tt/3e5FNUu
C-470 express lanes now open across south metro - parkerchronicle.net
"open" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bYShMr
https://ift.tt/3d2SYUY
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "C-470 express lanes now open across south metro - parkerchronicle.net"
Post a Comment