Lincoln Avenue - Fall 2009 Paving

Highway 40/Lincoln Avenue Reconstruction - Fall, 2009

For the past several years we have known that Lincoln Avenue was on the list of CDOT maintenance projects. Originally the project was to be a mill-and-fill project which would chew up the asphalt and replace it with more asphalt. The project was supposed to have taken place in 2007, but, because of drainage issues, the planning of a streetscape project in downtown and budgeting constraints with CDOT, the project was rescheduled to 2009. The wait has allowed Steamboat to plan and incorporate changes to the curbs and corners, putting fiber-optics in the roadbed to be able to time the traffic lights and making changes to the bus stops.

The scope of work has now changed from a mill-and-fill project to a total reconstruction of the roadway. The new roadway will be concrete instead of asphalt. Concrete lasts closer to 30 years while asphalt has to be replaced every 7-10 years, saving us the pain of 3 repaving projects instead of just one. Work will probably be done in two block sections on one side of the road until that whole side of the road is complete before they turn around and do the other side of the road. Thankfully the work will not begin until the Fall after the Summer tourist season is over. The crews will work until weather prohibits it, then restart in the Spring.

It is still to be determined whether the work will take place during the day or at night. There are plusses and minuses to each scenerio. If the work is done at night, it will be less disruptive to traffic and can be completed faster. On the down side, there would be noise of construction all night (which could be bad for the motels in downtown as well as any residents in the area) and bright flood lights for many months, among other things. This might be the time to weigh in on what you think would be the best plan. These decisions must be made very soon because CDOT and the City are putting numbers to the construction.

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Article Source: Mainstreet Steamboat Springs July 2008 E-Newsletter