Construction on Highway 73 to start in September

Je co working to mitigate tra c impacts

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Evergreen High School library was lled with people interested in learning more about Je erson County’s plan to make improvements to Highway 73 between Bu alo Park Road and downtown Evergreen.

e 22-month-long, $11 million project is expected to start in September to widen Highway 73, add a bike lane and a pedestrian trail, improve safety at the intersection with Bu alo Park Road and improve ood controls.

is construction will start as the Evergreen Lake North Trail detour ends. at detour, which will route northbound tra c from Highway 73, through downtown Evergreen and up Meadow Drive to Highway 74, is expected to last from May through Labor Day.

Many of the more than 100 people who led through the library on April 18 spoke one-on-one with Jeco engineers, most concerned about being able to get through Evergreen during construction. Je co o cials did not have a formal presentation.

In anticipation of the Highway 73 road work, Xcel Energy will relocate gas and electric utilities from June through August. Je co o cials promise that for the most part, twoway tra c will be owing through

Highway 73, with occasional singlelane restrictions, and that tra c will move more smoothly through the area than it did earlier this year. While the Highway 73 construction will take a long time, Mike Vanatta, the assistant director for Je erson County’s transportation and engineering division, said he has structured how the work will be completed to try to make traveling through Evergreen manageable for drivers.

It’s been 23 years since Evergreen has seen extended construction near downtown. In 2000, the Colorado Department of Transportation made improvements and widened the intersection of Highway 73/74.

Phased construction e construction will be done in three phases:

• e rst phase will start at Bu alo Park Road, improving the intersection and extending the second lane from Bu alo Park Road to northbound Highway 73. Vanatta said he hopes that will encourage more people to use the second turn lane, avoiding backups. e rst phase also includes replacing culverts at Little Cub Creek Road and closer to Evergreen Lake.

• e second phase includes constructing retaining walls and roadway improvements between Bu alo Park Road and Little Cub Creek Road.

• e third phase, which Vanatta says is the most di cult phase, includes constructing walls and roadway improvements from Little Cub Creek Road north to Plettner Lane.

A retaining wall will be constructed along Little Cub Creek on the east side of the road to provide extra space for the third lane, walking and bike paths. e rock wall on the west side of the road is considered historic because it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Impacts

During construction, Vanatta said two lanes of tra c would be maintained during the peak hours of 5:30-8:30 a.m. and 3:30-5:30 p.m. During those times, crews will work on projects on the sides of the road. He hopes that school and commuter tra c will be able to get through that section of Highway 73 more easily. e rest of the time, the road likely

Two More Projects

Je erson County is working on two smaller projects to improve pedestrian safety, especially as students walk on Evergreen roads. Both are being funded by the Evergreen Local Improvement District and CDOT Revitalizing Main Streets grants.

Je co is improving the intersection at Bergen Parkway and Sugarbush Drive near the Evergreen King Soopers, including putting in ADA-accessible ramps at all four corners and replacing crumbling concrete. Work will start in late spring.

In addition, Je co will install a sidewalk from Wilmot Elementary to Evergreen High School along Bu alo Park Road and improve the pedestrian tra c light to cross Bu alo Park Road near Wilmot. Construction will occur this summer.

will be down to one lane. To start, night work will not be done because of the homes along Highway 73.

Evergreen High School will keep all students at school during lunch times to ease congestion on Highway 73.

Je co is working with Evergreen Fire/Rescue and with the Je co Sheri ’s O ce to make sure emergency vehicles can get through the construction area.

Je co will plant 400 deciduous trees and shrubs in the area at the end of the project.

Evergreen Pickleball Club donates paddles to EHS, teaches students intricacies of the sport

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e competition was pretty erce at Wulf Recreation Center as Evergreen High School students took on members of the Evergreen Pickleball Club in some friendly pickleball games.

e April 19 competition was a celebration of 25 Paddletek pickleball paddles the club donated to EHS’ recreational sports class, which teaches students about lifelong recreation activities. e class spends three weeks learning pickleball, according to teacher Beau Brake, so playing against veteran club members is a learning experience for the edgling players.

According to Bob Taber, Evergreen Pickleball Club president, the club has 300 members from Idaho Springs to Pine, with many playing three to ve times a week. ey play in Evergreen because the Wulf Rec Center’s gymnasium can be set up for pickleball and there are courts available at Marshdale Fields.

Taber said the club learned the class had eight paddles for more than 20 students, so members