Crews ready to reopen highway between Lyons and Raymond

Ron Gosnell - a 50-year-resident of Lyons - gave his approval Thursday to the rebuilding of a roughly nine mile stretch of Colo. Highway 7, just west of the town. The road between Lyons and Raymond had been nearly wiped out by the September 2013 flood which also redirected the flow of the South St. Vrain Creek.

Colorado Department of Transportation and Kiewit crews rebuilt the highway making it the last section of roadway to be finished as part of the state’s $750 million flood recovery program.

The improvements make the corridor safer and environmentally friendly, said Heather Paddock, CDOT Region 4  Director, during a sunshine splashed ceremony celebrating the reopening of Colo. 7 to residents and commuters on Memorial Day.

The work was so well done, Paddock said, “in a few years, you won’t even know we were here” 

Gosnell said he appreciated that crews widened the highway for motorists but kept it narrow enough that it would not draw heavy traffic. “I’m glad they didn’t make it real wide. People don’t need to go so fast through here. There is plenty of wildlife crossing through here, and we don’t need to make it tough on them,” Gosnell said. 

Since September 2021, this section of Colo. 7 had been closed, apart from set open hours of 6-8 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. while crews worked. On Thursday, officials opened the St. Vrain Canyon for tours to see how the road will look once construction is finished in November 2022.

The full roadway will be open on Memorial Day while cyclists will have to wait for November to get access. 

Rachel Hultin - director for sustainable transportation for Bicycle Colorado - said she liked that CDOT and Kiewit made travel through the canyon much safer for cyclists and motorists.

“CDOT really worked hard on this, they widened shoulders and also put in new signage that enforces the ‘Three-Foot  to pass’ law,” Hultin said

Colorado’s “Three-Foot” law requires motorists to give people biking at least three feet of space, even if it means crossing a double yellow line to do so when the coast is clear, according to Bicycle Colorado.

“They (CDOT) have definitely built back better and made it safer for everyone,” Hultin said. “This is a nice recovery from what happened in the flood.”

The September 2013 flood saturated the canyon causing rock slides, ditch damage and erosion on the roadway embankment, according to a CDOT news release. Flood waters wiped out the road in several places while huge amounts of debris, rock and sediment were deposited in the creek and redirected water flows, CDOT said.

The improvements included:

• Removing and replacing temporary asphalt placed during emergency repairs;
• Adding shoulders and rockfall ditches;
• Restoring ecological systems along the corridor;
• Re-establishing the creek channel while protecting banks; and 
• Establishing topsoil and vegetation in areas that were either damaged or disturbed by emergency repair work.

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said environmental sustainability was emphasized during the project, noting all the earthwork produced by construction was landfilled inside the canyon.

Lew also thanked the residents of Lyons for their patience during the project. “We really have to thank the community for being so flexible,” Lew said.

Gosnell said it wasn’t so bad being stuck in traffic before work crews allowed motorists to proceed to Lyons or Raymond. “Look at this,” said Gosnell as he looked at the forest surrounding the highway. “You just had to sit back, and enjoy the view. Could be worse.”