Happy Birthday! may seem like a strange way to start a column in the Colorado Public Works Journal, but why shouldn’t we celebrate the performance of our long-life pavements?!  Especially when they far outperform their expected design lives.  After hitting a decade milestone myself this year, I’m valuing the importance of celebrating those things that are still performing well, whether it’s the ability to enjoy certain activities – or appreciating a pavement that has carried traffic for many years.  (I am obviously a true pavement nerd after making that comparison!)

Happy 30th Birthday to US 40/287 from Limon to Hugo!

This nearly 12-mile stretch of highway south of I-70 was one of the early concrete overlay projects on the Ports to Plains route along US 40 & US 287 that extends all the way to the Oklahoma state line.  The 10” thick doweled concrete overlay was paved in 1994 by Castle Rock Construction Company and has already exceeded its 20-year design life by 50%, with many more years of service to come.  The pavement smoothness measurements are impressive at an average IRI of 78.4 inches/mile (sourced from 2022 CDOT data).  Colorado taxpayers are continuing to receive an incredible return on investment from this project that cost $18.67/SY to construct and has required minimal maintenance over the last 30 years.

University Boulevard from I-25 to Exposition was bid in the spring of 1984 under a CDOT contract, and now falls under the jurisdiction of the City & County of Denver.  Irving F. Jensen Company (now Castle Rock Construction) built the 7” thick undoweled concrete pavement at a cost of $16.25/SY.  The roadway has had several panel replacements and would benefit from a diamond grinding treatment to improve the smoothness and remove the faulting – not bad after 40 years of carrying traffic without the benefit of dowels for load transfer.

After 30 years of successful performance by the southern section, the City & County of Denver moved north and reconstructed the heavily rutted asphalt pavement with concrete pavement from Cherry Creek South Drive to 6th Avenue.  Villalobos Concrete Company paved the project in 2014, making it 10 years old this year with many years of service to come.

Happy 40th Birthday to University Boulevard in Denver!

 

Article published in the Spring/Summer 2024 edition of the Colorado Public Works Journal.