Resurfacing work on I-70 eastbound in Glenwood Canyon, east of Hanging Lake Tunnel, has been completed ahead of schedule. Contractor Interstate Highway Construction of Englewood had a contract with the Colorado Dept. of Transportation for a 94-working-day project and completed the work in 78.5 days—or 15.5 days early. With a $6,000/day early completion incentive offered by CDOT, IHC will earn an incentive of $93,000 for the accelerated work.


Photo courtesy of CDOT

CDOT says the concrete reconstruction will extend the life of the highway for up to 30 years.

“We implement early-completion incentives on projects with high public and community impact, like this one in the canyon,” says CDOT Program Engineer Joe Elsen. “IHC not only completed the work early, but presented a high-quality project as well.”


Work began in late March on the concrete reconstruction project, which was contracted to IHC for $7.9 million and is the fourth in a series of phased projects to reconstruct I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in concrete.

The first three phases reconstructed the interstate west of Hanging Lake Tunnel—between No Name Tunnel at MP 118 and Hanging Lake Tunnel at MP 125. CDOT says the concrete reconstruction will extend the life of the highway for up to 30 years, depending on traffic volumes and weather.


The most recent project installed concrete in the eastbound lanes, from Hanging Lake Tunnel to east of the Bair Ranch Exit. In addition to concrete reconstruction, the project involved bridge expansion joint work at two I-70 bridges (east- and westbound) and two I-70 ramp bridges (Bair Ranch); as well as a an asphalt milling and resurfacing at the Bair Ranch rest area parking lot.

Also, the project provided a long-lasting weatherproofing surface on the eastbound bridge at Bair Ranch—a polyester concrete overlay that CDOT says should provide 30 years of bridge deck preservation, weatherproofing and skid resistance.