Warmer weather ushers in vacations, time off and a little R&R in the shade. The season also means city road crews are out in force, patching and rehabilitating roads and sidewalks in Longmont stressed under heavy use by pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles.
The city is embarking on several major projects this spring, some of which have already begun or are scheduled to start in 2021, said Tom Street, Longmont’s engineering administrator.
“These are priority projects for the city that are focused on maintaining and improving the city’s street and transportation system,” Street said via email
The projects include:
Concrete Rehabilitation Projects - This $1.45 million project provides repairs to damaged concrete and upgrades to non-compliant curb ramps in advance of the asphalt rehabilitation project. The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of August.
Asphalt Rehabilitation Projects - This $2.99 million project includes the rehabilitation of asphalt at numerous streets throughout the city. This year’s program includes rehabilitation of over 180,000 square yards of asphalt roadways. City-owned parking lots will also receive work. Construction is expected to start at the end of May and is scheduled to finish in mid-September.
Chip Seal Projects - This preventative maintenance is budgeted for $800,000 and is scheduled to start in August. Crews will cover 139,000 square yards of pavement with about 6% of that area receiving a slurry seal application. The slurry seal will be applied in cul-de-sacs since slurry seal performs better than chip seal in those areas.
County Line Road Improvements - The project will improve traffic operations, safety and multimodal access while rehabilitating an aging pavement on County Line Road from about Ninth Avenue to 17th Avenue, Street said. The widening of County Line Road is needed to accommodate dedicated left turn lanes and on-street bike lanes, Street said. Pedestrian improvements include sidewalk improvements along the west side of County Line Road from Spring Gulch No. 2 to 17th Avenue along with a trail connection at Jim Hamm Nature Area. Construction is scheduled to be finished by the end of June.
Ninth Avenue Multimodal Improvements - In 2020, the city added bike lanes on Ninth Avenue between Airport Road and Hover Street. This year, the bike lanes will be extended from Hover Street to Coffman Street. To add the bike lanes, parking on both sides of the street will be removed and Ninth Avenue will be converted to a three-lane roadway (one through lane in each direction and a center turn lane) between Hover Street and Gay Street. The final configuration will be similar to previous multimodal projects that reduced vehicular travel lanes in order to improve multimodal facilities, such as Sunset Street between Pike Road and Kansas Avenue, Street said.
17th Avenue and Pace ADA improvements - This project will improve accessibility at the intersection of 17th Avenue and Pace Street and will bring all components into compliance with current Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.The project should be finished by September.
First Avenue and Emery Street Improvements - This project will improve the existing at grade rail crossing of Emery Street, north of First Avenue. Improvements include upgrades to the rail track circuitry, new railroad crossing gates and other supplement safety measures, and new surface crossing material at the three-track crossing. The railroad crossing improvements will be installed so this crossing will meet Quiet Zone requirements, Street said. The project is under construction and should be complete by September.
Spring Gulch #2 Drainage and Greenway Improvements - Phase 2 of this project extended the greenway trail along the Spring Gulch No. 2 channel from Stephen Day Park to Union Reservoir and includes a pedestrian underpass crossing at County Line Road. The project began in 2020 and is mostly complete, Street said.
Resilient St. Vrain Project - This project continues to move forward, Street said. Goals focus on the reestablishment of the St. Vrain Greenway, channel improvements to protect people, property and infrastructure for future flood risks and to complete the work in the “most environmentally sensitive manner possible,” Street said. City Reach improvements are a multi-year project that is being constructed in phases. Construction of City Reach 1 (Main Street to Left Hand Creek) is finished, Street said. Construction of City Reach 2A (Colorado Way to Main Street) and City Reach 2B (upstream to the BNSF Railroad Bridge to Colorado Way) are complete. Izaak Walton Reach 1 (Boston Avenue to upstream of the BNSF Railroad Bridge) is under construction and is scheduled to be complete in late 2021/early 2022, he said.
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