US 85 Widening from Highlands Ranch Parkway to C-470

Budget

Total Construction Cost = $108 Million

Project Manager

Douglas County / CDOT / Kraemer NA

[email protected]

719-695-0052

Contractor

Kraemer North America

[email protected]

719-695-0052

Partners

Douglas County
CDOT
Chatfield Basin Developers
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)
Highlands Ranch Metro District

Project Update

Project Questions? Please email to [email protected] or call 719-695-0052.

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October 23 – 29, 2022:

Daytime impacts:

Northbound and southbound US 85 left lane closures between Carter Court and Blakeland Drive Monday, Oct. 24 through Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Northbound US 85 right lane closure from Brandon Drive to Town Center Drive Monday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Northbound US 85 right lane closures from Town Center Drive to Carter Court Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Northbound US 85 right lane closures from Carter Court to Blakeland Drive Wednesday, Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Northbound US 85 right lane closures from Highlands Ranch Parkway to Town Center Drive and from Noorwood Drive to Blakeland Drive Wednesday, Oct. 26 and Thursday, Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nighttime impacts:

Westbound C-470 toll lane closure and left general purpose lane closure from Lucent Boulevard to Wadsworth Boulevard Monday, Oct. 24 from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Eastbound C-470 toll lane closure and left general purpose lane closure from Wadsworth Boulevard to Lucent Boulevard Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Eastbound C-470 right lane closure from Wadsworth Boulevard to US 85 and left lane closure on the US 85 off-ramp Wednesday, Oct. 26 from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Southbound US 85 left lane closure from County Line Road to Blakeland Drive Wednesday, Oct. 26 from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Full closure of the eastbound C-470 access from southbound US 85 at the C-470 bridge beginning at 7 p.m., Oct. 26.*

*Southbound US 85 access to eastbound C-470 to close through 2023:

Beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26, crews will close southbound US 85 access to eastbound C-470 to construct a new bridge over C-470. Detour Route: Wolhurst residents may use County Line Road to Lucent Boulevard to access eastbound C-470 or utilize the southbound US 85 flyover. This closure will last through 2023.

Please watch for crews, slow down, and avoid distracted driving in the work zone.

Description

Purpose: Improve safety, mobility, and traffic operations by widening and reconstructing a segment of US 85 (South Santa Fe Drive) from Highlands Ranch Parkway and extending north of C-470 Interchange to Dad Clark Gulch (which is located approximately 1,200 feet north of County Line Road).

Timeline: Fall 2022 to Fall 2025

About the project: Douglas County and CDOT are partnering on this multimodal transportation project to increase mobility along 2.5 miles of US 85 (Santa Fe Drive). In addition to widening US 85 from four to six lanes, the project includes the replacement and widening of the existing bridge that carries US 85 over C-470. Major US 85 intersection improvements will occur at Highlands Ranch Parkway, Town Center Drive, Blakeland Drive, the C-470 Interchange ramps and at County Line Road.

Partial Continuous Flow Intersection (CFI) will be installed for the following traffic movements:

Southbound US 85 to Eastbound Highlands Ranch Parkway
Southbound US 85 to Eastbound Town Center Drive
Northbound US 85 to Westbound C-470

Click Here for Map of US 85 Interchange at the above 3 listed intersections.

Learn more about the new continuous flow intersection design.

Multimodal improvements include bus stop enhancements, a new shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians on the east side of US 85, a below-grade crossing for the C-470 Trail at US 85, a below-grade crossing for the High Line Canal Trail at US 85, and a new pedestrian link from the Wolhurst community to the C-470 Trail.

The project also includes the addition of continuous auxiliary lanes, new asphalt paving, relocation of utilities, raised medians, new curb and gutter, and a new closed storm sewer system with water quality ponds.

Business Access Changes: In order to address safety concerns along the US 85 Corridor, access to businesses and some streets will be restricted right-in and right-out turn movements – left turns to and from US 85 at all driveways and on Brandon Drive and Carder Court will be restricted. Instead, traffic will use signalized intersections at Highlands Ranch Parkway, Town Center Drive and Blakeland Drive.

The construction project was advertised in the local paper as well as on Rocky Mountain Bid Net. Douglas County received a total of three bids, and Kraemer North America, LCC submitted the lowest bid and was awarded the construction contract on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

Other projects along US 85 in Douglas County

US 85 / Titan Interchange Improvements (Douglas County)
US 85 / Daniels Park Road Intersection Traffic Signal (CDOT)
US 85 widening from two to four lanes from SH 67 (Sedalia) to Daniels Park Road (CDOT)
COMPLETED July 2022 – US 85 widening from two to four lanes between Louviers and Milepost 191.75 (CDOT)

Schedule

Construction began on Oct. 3, 2022.

Project Questions? Please email to [email protected] or call 719-695-0052.

Drivers should expect to see workers and heavy equipment during the day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. with daytime lane closures between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays. Overnight lane closures on US 85 and C-470 are expected from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. weeknights.