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Early afternoon, Aug. 22: Heavy equipment
realigns the grade, preparatory for paving. The view looks east toward the
Fillmore interchange, which was closed for the weekend to bridge traffic. The new
south bridge (not yet open) is just to the right of the old bridge, which will be
demolished later this year. Compare this photo with the one at the bottom of this
web page, taken from a similar angle Aug. 24 after the bridge was reopened.
Photo essay: What happened while the Fillmore/I-25 bridge was closed Aug. 21-24
It took closing the Fillmore Street bridge for the weekend, but motorists Monday, Aug. 24 found new pavement between the old bridge and about 40 feet east of the Chestnut Street stoplight.Although probably not noticeable to motorists, the weekend work by SEMA Construction also realigned the grade (before the paving occurred) to reduce the steepness starting up the Fillmore Hill.
Still to be accomplished is aligning the grade/pavement up to the new south bridge, which was built this summer. It was intentionally constructed about 4 feet higher than the old bridge to lessen the Fillmore Hill grade even more. Until it opens - expected sometime after Labor Day weekend - it can be paved without affecting traffic, and this will probably occur over the next couple of weeks, according to Ted Tjerandsen of Wilson & Company, a project consultant for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
The Fillmore interchange is scheduled for closure again this weekend (9 p.m. Friday night, Aug. 28 to 5 a.m., Monday, Aug. 31) for paving work on the east side of the old and new bridges. The interstate will remain open.
Over the Aug. 21-24 weekend, a total of 1,400 cubic yards of dirt was hauled in by trucks, Tjerandsen said. At 15 yards per load, this works out to nearly 100 truck deliveries during the weekend work. After the dirt was compacted, 1,200 tons of asphalt were laid over the top of it, he said.
The work was accomplished with various types of heavy equipment, involving mostly 15-man crews working around the clock on 12-hour shifts from 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, when the bridge was closed, until 3:45 a.m. Monday, Aug. 24, when the paving was completed, he said. The bridge was open to traffic by 5 a.m. Aug. 24.
Simplifying the dirt/paving process, the Martin Marietta asphalt company is just up the street, off Fillmore and Centennial Boulevard. "It was very, very nice to have it so close,” Tjerandsen said. Other interstate projects “get pretty remote, and time becomes a factor.”
Contracted to SEMA for $15.1 million, the Fillmore/I-25 interchange project is tentatively planned for completion in June 2016.
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The segment of Fillmore Street between the
interchange and just short of Chestnut Street (where the barricades are) was about
half-paved at this point in the early afternoon of Aug. 23. A crew is seen applying
new pavement.
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LEFT: A vehicle compacts a layer of pavement
in front of the old Fillmore Street bridge over I-25 Aug. 23 as part of the weekend
project. The old bridge will still be used for a few more weeks. RIGHT: A view
shows the west end of the new south bridge, which is to open after Labor Day. The
pavement will align with its greater height.
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This was how the newly paved segment of
Fillmore Street west of the interchange looked Aug. 24, after the completion of
the weekend work. Compare with the photo at the top of this page, taken Aug. 22
when the grading work was taking place.
Westside Pioneer article and photos
(Posted 8/25/15;
Transportation:
Fillmore/I-25)
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