Monday, February 17, 2020

3-month closure of MacGregor and US 34 (Wonderview Avenue) intersection in Estes Park

On March 2, the intersection of US 34 (Wonderview Avenue) and MacGregor will be closed for three months to allow the Colorado Department of Transportation to build a roundabout in the area and make other safety improvements to the area.

There will be an open house for the public to ask questions of the project team on Feb. 20 from 5-7 p.m. at the Estes Park Town Hall, but all the information for the project will be housed at the project website: https://www.codot.gov/projects/us-34-macgregor-improvements. No new information will be presented at the meeting, and there will be no formal presentation.

During the closure, traffic from US 34 (Wonderview) will be detoured to US 34 Business (Elkhorn) and traffic from MacGregor will be detoured to Big Horn Drive. Minor delays are expected.

This project is one that has been discussed for years, including a public meeting in December of 2018 to discuss design options for the intersection. The roundabout design that was the overwhelming choice of those in the meetings and the design team, was Option 1 (picture below). This option connects sidewalks on the north and was better for pedestrian safety while maintaining the access points for residents in the area.

All of this work came about because of operational and safety concerns with the intersection which led to a CDOT study on the area. The goals of the study were:

* Accommodate current and future traffic volumes
* Improve safety for vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other users
* Cost savings for construction, maintenance, traveler delay and crashes

While the study looked at a number of options, the roundabout was easily the best choice. The study looked at how the intersection operates, safety concerns and cost over the next 20 years.







Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

No comments: