Highway, safety improvements on US 160

ARCHULETA/MINERAL COUNTIES— The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and contractor A & S Construction are making good progress on the 14.3-mile resurfacing and safety-improvement project on US Highway 160, east of Pagosa Springs. The roadway will receive a 2.5-inch surface treatment (including some surface milling, a 1-inch leveling course of asphalt mix to address imperfections, and a 1.5-inch overlay of new asphalt).
Several work items on the project have been completed. The following list indicates completed work to date, as well as items scheduled for completion by October 2018:
• Embankment stabilization just west of Treasure Falls is completed. Crews are now patching the roadway above the new ground-anchor wall that was constructed (soon they will switch traffic and address the repairs on the eastbound side of the highway).
• The eastbound chain-up station has been widened 8 feet for trucker’s safety. New lighting will be installed on both sides of the chain up station in the next month.
• The bottom mat of asphalt is 50 percent complete, with 7 miles done, including the intersection at US 84. A second top mat of asphalt will be completed once the bottom mat is finished being laid.
• Approximately half of the highway approaches have been paved.
• All guardrail and bridge rail has been replaced and upgraded through the entire project.
• Bridge repair on the San Juan River and Turkey Creek structures is underway. Concrete deck sounding (or testing) and waterproofing membrane installation have been completed. Resurfacing will follow in the next few weeks.
The overall project will include:
• Upgraded guardrails
• Improvements to three bridges (including new bridge rail, resurfacing, waterproofing and one expansion joint repair)
• Patched and/or milled and resurfaced roadway
• Widened truck chain station areas, additional lighting
• Stabilized embankments and improved culverts and ditches
The project, which started in May, is located between the US 84 junction, mile point (MP) 144.29, to the Treasure Falls turnout, MP 158.56. The work was contracted to A & S Construction for $7.5 million.
Travel impacts
Work hours during the project will continue to take place Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Motorists are likely to encounter two separate work zones with single-lane, alternating travel at each. Motorists could be delayed upwards of 20 minutes through a paving work zone, and less through a shorter patching/repair work zone. Actual travel delays will vary with summer traffic volumes and will depend upon a motorist’s position in the traffic queue. Paving and milling work zones are expected to be about 1.5-miles long; when crews are paving connecting road or driveway approaches, it can take up to one hour before vehicles can enter or exit that area. Finally, truckers and others driving heavy vehicles should be aware of the full traffic stop for westbound travelers descending to the base of Wolf Creek Pass (MP 158.8) as they are approaching the work zone near Treasure Falls.
A width restriction of 10 feet is in place 24/7, due to narrowed lanes with a concrete barrier where a deep patching is underway. Those with wide loads should contact CDOT’s Permits Office at 800-350-3765 for updates.
The speed limit is reduced to 40 mph through the workzone for everyone’s safety. Please avoid distractions as you travel through the work zone and go “Slow for the Cone Zone!”

Stay connected
Those with questions or comments regarding the work can log onto the project web site at www.codot.gov/projects/us-160-treasurefalls, call the project information line at 970-317-8636 or email the project team at [email protected].