Skip to main content

Engineering firm unveils I-70 improvement project

International engineering firm Parsons Corp has unveiled its proposed US$3.5 billion project to ease traffic on Interstate 70 through the central mountains in Eagle County, Colorado. Parsons had submitted an unsolicited proposal to Colorado Department of Transportation in 2011. The three-phase project would include tolled express lanes and a bus rapid transit system and be completed as soon as 2021. The express lanes would be reversible to accommodate peak traffic flows to and from the mountains. The proje
July 29, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
International engineering firm 4089 Parsons Corp has unveiled its proposed US$3.5 billion project to ease traffic on Interstate 70 through the central mountains in Eagle County, Colorado.  Parsons had submitted an unsolicited proposal to 5701 Colorado Department of Transportation in 2011.
 
The three-phase project would include tolled express lanes and a bus rapid transit system and be completed as soon as 2021.
 
The express lanes would be reversible to accommodate peak traffic flows to and from the mountains. The project would also straighten some curves on the interstate and resurface the existing lanes.
 
Tunnel bores would have to be added at places such as the Eisenhower Tunnel, and parts of the new lanes would be suspended like the current highway is through Glenwood Canyon.
 
"This is a very, very aggressive schedule," said Jim Bemelen, Parsons' mountain corridor manager. "It's unlikely, but the project could be completed by 2021."
 
"We are very concerned about minimising the footprint as much as possible," said Ralph Trapani, Parsons program director.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Close shave for Brazilian project
    June 12, 2015
    Signing the order to equip a new control room just 45 days before the city hosts a major sporting event is challenging - but some deadlines just cannot be moved. There is nothing like a deadline to concentrate minds and effort as Mitsubishi and the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte discovered in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup. Although municipal authorities had been considering a new command centre for years, it was the hosting of the World Cup last summer that provided the final impetus.
  • UDOT launches variable speed limit system
    January 8, 2014
    The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has installed a new US$750,000 electronic sign system on Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon that will allow engineers to adjust the speed limit during storms or icy weather. Eight electronic signs are in eastbound lanes, and seven in westbound lanes. Data from road sensors shows the road condition, along with the canyon’s temperature and humidity and traffic speed, while cameras will show visibility, enabling traffic engineers to remotely adjust the speed limit s
  • Improving urban traffic control in Atlanta
    January 27, 2012
    Hugh Colton, Georgia DOT details move to improve urban traffic control in the Atlanta area. With a significant proportion of traffic using freeways and toll-ways, along with a significant investment in roadway infrastructure, urban arterials are often the poor relation when it comes to ITS investment. Hitherto the primary means of Urban Traffic Control (UTC) has been the ubiquitous traffic signal. Many traffic signals still operate in a standalone mode and traffic detection is often broken, leaving the sign
  • App informs drivers of delays during Long Beach bridge replacement
    June 6, 2014
    David Crawford previews a work zone travel breakthrough. In February 2014, the Port of Long Beach in California launched what it claims is a groundbreaking construction zone navigation aid - LB Bridge mobile app. The app is designed to help drivers during the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement programme by keeping them up to date on activity and the ensuing traffic diversions when construction starts in summer 2014. The unusually content-rich app is designed to convey current project news (enlivened by phot