Work on Colorado Highway 17 resumes after winter hiatus

SAGUACHE COUNTY — Crews are back to work on Colorado Highway 17 after the winter hiatus. While work has progressed well ahead of schedule, and crews have completed most of the construction they will begin work on final projects tasks.

For the week of March 28, motorists traveling in the area will find crews working throughout the project installing guardrail and should experience only temporary delays.

There will be a mobile work zone that motorists will have to navigate this week as crews begin shoulder seeding. This work will be going on throughout the project area, MP 84.5 to MP 118.4. Motorists are asked to use caution when approaching the work zone.

Travel impacts for those traveling in the project area include:

  • Project work hours are daylight hours, Monday through Friday.
  • Motorists will encounter brief closures with single lane alternating traffic.
  • The speed limit is reduced to 40 mph through the work zone.
  • Flagging personnel will be on sight to direct traffic through the area as construction equipment enters and exits the work zone.

CDOT is improving approximately 36 miles of Colorado Highway 17, from Hooper to the US 285 junction. The work has included widening the existing roadway followed with a new asphalt overlay.

The project also has minor culvert extensions, erosion control, guardrail, signing, and striping. The project is expected to enhance safety for travelers on this narrow two-lane highway, with wider shoulders that provide a larger recoverable area on the side of the road and reduce the potential of crashes from vehicles veering off the roadway.