The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) met with the Boulder Chamber of Commerce and the Boulder City Council this week to present the potential impact a summer roadworks project, “Boulder-Urban,” could have on traffic into and out of the city.
“We’ll keep two-way traffic going through the town virtually all the time,“ said MDT traffic project engineer David Cunningham. “There will be moments we’ll have to do some traffic control during the mill fill and paving, but that’ll go pretty fast.” Cunningham reiterated that the project is scheduled for 50 working days, starting June 10, and should be completed by September.
The project is a “mill and overlay” effort meant to rejuvenate existing pavement without fully reconstructing the road. It will replace the top layer of existing asphalt of the roadway passing through Boulder with fresh material and apply a chip seal covering, which is a pavement surface treatment meant to increase the road’s friction and skid resistance.
MDT will also repaint existing road markings, and upgrade sidewalks at intersections from Cattle Drive Road to I-15, making them more explicitly ramped, friendlier to wheel-chair bound pedestrians, and more closely compliant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. MDT also reiterated that the Main Street planter beds will be removed and replaced with a concrete median.
The City of Boulder is not responsible for any cost associated with the $3 million project, which is nearly 90% federally funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Once the Boulder-Urban restoration effort is complete, pedestrians crossing Main Street will be safer in transit.
