The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed Phase 1 of the U.S. 36 Express Lanes Project.
Locally known as the “innovation corridor,” U.S. 36 was built with the strategy of moving traffic more efficiently rather than merely building additional lanes.
The construction of Phase I ran from Federal Boulevard to 88th Street in Louisville/Superior, Colo., an 11-mile stretch.
The U.S. 36 Express Lanes Project began in summer 2012 with construction phasing that allowed the highway to remain open during peak travel times while Ames Granite Joint Venture, the construction contractor, rebuilt the general purpose lanes, reconstructed five major bridges and widened three more.
The Express Lanes can accommodate High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and tolled vehicles.
Additionally, the project replaced several bridges, made BRT improvements and installed Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for tolling, transit and traveler information and incident management.
Phase II, which takes place in Boulder, Colo., will be complete in January 2016. Phase II also includes rebuilding general-purpose lanes, adding an express lane in each direction and making improvements to three more bridges.
Phase II is being built in partnership with RTD, HPTE and Plenary Roads Denver as CDOT’s first Public-Private Partnership, which is designing, building and financing Phase 2, and will operate and maintain Phase 1 and 2 and the I-25 Express Lanes into Denver, Colo.
