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Prior to final paving, a contracted crew lays a
waterproof membrane
onto the just-cleaned surface of 21st Street's bridge over Fountain Creek Sept. 25.
The man with the hose is applying a sticky surface under the rolled material which
holds it in place and contributes to the waterproofing. The cleaning earlier in the
day was accomplished through a procedure called
shot-blasting (see photo below).
In the background, next
to the guard rail, is the new sidewalk on the east side of the bridge, which was also
part of the project.
After months of closure, segments of 21st Street, Columbia Road reopen
Sept. 28, 2018Two key Westside road segments recently reopened after several months of closure.
They are 21st Street from Colorado Avenue to Highway 24 and Columbia Road from Colorado Avenue to Pikes Peak Avenue.
A process called shot-blasting pressure-cleans
the 21st Street bridge over Fountain Creek Sept. 25 in preparation for the
application of the waterproof membrane later that day (see
photo above).
Westside Pioneer photo
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After concrete work (replacements and additions of curbs, gutters and sidewalks), the final work in late September consisted of laying a waterproof membrane over the Fountain Creek bridge, then milling and fresh pavement.
The concrete improvements included a more continuous sidewalk on the east side of 21st Street, featuring one over the bridge (it had none before). There is also a new sidewalk on the west side of 21st between the highway and Naegele Road, paralleling the one there now.
Although the parallel sidewalk looks redundant, an engineering consultant noted that the work is in preparation for a Colorado Department of Transportation
As part of the 2C project for 21st Street
between Highway 24 and Colorado Avenue, rocks weighing up to a ton were set
(some of them secured with concrete) around the supports for the bridge over
Fountain Creek. The road reopened in the last week of September. This view
shows the west side of the bridge.
Westside Pioneer photo
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Both the bridge and Columbia are part of the Westside Avenue Action Plan (WAAP) project. A stoplight will eventually be installed at Columbia and Colorado, just east of the bridge.
Currently, travelers on Columbia are advised to look out for low-hanging power lines "through mid-November,” a WAAP press release states. “The lines will be hanging approximately 13 feet off the ground. Colorado Springs Utilities is in the
After demolition of the former wall/fence and
trees lining Columbia Road between Colorado Avenue (background) and Pikes
Peak Avenue, Columbia reopened to traffic in late September. Yet to be built is a
replacement wall/fence along the near (west) side of the roadway.
Westside Pioneer photo
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Columbia had been closed since mid-June. Implementing project plans to add a right-turn lane for southbound traffic, WAAP contractor Wildcat Construction demolished a wall/fence as well as several mature trees that had lined the western side of Columbia. The wall/fence is to be replaced, but not the trees, according to plans.
During the closure, the Columbia roadway was dug up to allow the installation of underground utilities and storm drains.
As recently as late August, the WAAP bridge (to be named Adams Crossing, after the historic descriptor for that Westside location) had been scheduled for completion by the end of September. A new date has not been announced, but early to mid-October now appears likely.
WAAP is a multi-jurisdictional project, funded mainly with Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority dollars, to reconstruct Colorado/Manitou Avenue for about 1 1/2 miles west of 31st Street.
Westside Pioneer article
(Transportation:
Major Roads)
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