Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Travelers along Colorado 131 from Toponas to Oak Creek may have groaned Tuesday at the sight of new construction signs.

But managers of the 22-mile repavement project in this area said the work should not cause major delays.

Roadwork on Colo. 131 between mile 30 and mile 52 will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, throughout the summer.

During these hours, commuters can expect delays of less than 15 minutes at areas where traffic becomes one lane.

"We're hoping for a maximum of 15 minutes (in delays) through the entire project," said Jason Smith, the Colorado Department of Transportation's project engineer for this Colo. 131 improvement. "Our goal is to keep that at a minimum."

The contractor for the project, Elam Construction of Grand Junction, is moving equipment out to the site this week. Actual roadwork is scheduled to begin next Monday, and Smith said the work should be finished by mid-August.

There will be two or three work zones along the 22-mile section at any given time, with each zone being about one or two miles long. Flaggers will alternate one-lane traffic and the speed limit will be reduced to 30 mph through these work areas.

This $1.8 million road improvement project is minor compared to the widening and reconstruction project that was started last fall on Colo. 131 from Steamboat Springs to Oak Creek, Smith said.

The highway section from Toponas to Oak Creek only needs to be repaved. The last time the highway was paved was about 10 years ago, Smith said.

In addition to paving, workers will seal cracks and install or upgrade guardrails at various locations.

"I don't think they'll have a problem coming through our project," Smith said. "The delays will be minimal."