Hey Colorado, Keep Your Guard Up on North I-25 for Four More Years

For Northern Coloradans who commute along north Interstate 25, the old political chant "four more years" turns to a cry of fret at the thought of cone zones continuing.

I'm sorry, my friends. We're in for it—and probably many more, as the Colorado Department of Transportation continues work on the I-25 North Express Lanes and other improvements.

We have seen some promise as lanes open up from Berthoud to north of Fort Collins.

However, the latest phase has express lanes under construction from Mead to Berthoud, and it has been dangerous for drivers and construction workers.

You hear it in our traffic reports regularly—traffic is slowing south of Berthoud and north of Mead. Sometimes, it is because of congestion, sometimes because of caution through the construction zone, sometimes because of needed construction activity obstructing familiar flow, and many times, we are reporting such slowdowns because of accidents.

Those accidents have caused CDOT to implement a campaign to share cone zone safety.

Between the start of construction in May and July:

• 42 percent of crashes within the corridor were a result of careless driving.

• 31 percent of crashes were a result of following too close.

• 8 percent were a result of distracted driving.

Two keys will keep everyone safe in the cone zone: obey the reduced 65 MPH speed limit and never drive distracted.

CDOT reps say the project will ultimately make Interstate 25 safer. Already, crashes are down 58 percent compared to a pre-construction era on the Berthoud to Fort Collins segments.

What are they doing to I-25 in Northern Colorado?

This four-year project builds on the six-year, 20-mile improvement project north of Berthoud.

This project will connect the wider interstate south of Colorado 66 in Mead to the newer expansion that started near Colorado 56 in Berthoud.

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Improvements include:

●  Wider inside roadway shoulder to 10 feet and the outside roadway shoulder to 12 feet (both are currently 4 feet wide).

●  Reconstruction of the I-25 and Weld County Road 34 interchange.

● Rebuilt bridges at: Weld County Road 32; Weld County Road 34; I-25 over Great Western Railway; Weld County Road 38; I-25 over Valley Road.

●  Addition of one 12-foot Express Lane in each direction from CO 66 to just south of CO 56 with a 4-foot painted buffer separating the tolled Express Lane from the general purpose travel lanes.

●  Installation and integration of tolling and Intelligent Transportation Systems equipment.

Here's a 25-minute presentation that explains the ins and outs of the Interstate 25 North Corridor project, how it should be driven, and what the future holds.

When will the north I-25 project be finished?

This $250 million project is expected to be completed in 2028. So, we have four more years of construction on the main lanes of I-25 to contend with for four more years.

Be patient, my friends. We already see how much better it will get.