Hess Road extension opening delayed
By Lisa Crockett
The road is paved; the dedication ceremony planned … and yet, the barriers still prohibit entrance to the much-anticipated Hess Road extension. The new roadway, which will provide an east-west connection between Parker and Castle Pines is nearly complete. The road did not open in December as originally scheduled.
The final phase of the project, which involves installing new traffic signals at both the northbound and southbound on-off ramps of Castle Pines Parkway and I-25, as well as making a minor widening of the northbound on-ramp and re-striping Castle Pines Parkway over I-25 is not yet complete. CDOT is requiring the new traffic signals to be operational prior to opening Hess Road. The proposed interchange improvements were initially anticipated to be installed around Thanksgiving 2011, but have met with delays.
The county opened bids in June 2011; the low bid was submitted by Sturgeon Electric for the new traffic signals for about $480,000. Sturgeon Electric originally thought the traffic signal poles and master arms would be delivered by early to mid-November 2011, but as of press time, suppliers anticipated delivery in late December or early January 2012. Once poles and master arms arrive, Sturgeon Electric needs approximately three to four weeks before signals will be fully operational.
Hess Road will open when the signals are fully operational – likely towards the end of January.
