DENVER — An estimated six-month-long construction project starts this week along East Hampden Avenue and South Havana Street in southeast Denver.
The work will be taking place from South Dahlia Street to South Parker Road. The Colorado Department of Transportation says it teamed up with the city of Denver to host a series of public meetings about what people in the area wanted for road improvements.
“Public safety was a big call for action on that corridor,” CDOT spokeswoman Presley Fowler said. “As well as just public safety and getting people where they need to go in the most efficient manner.”
Work will include improved signals and bridges, along with more accessibility for pedestrians. New curb ramps will be ADA compliant, raised medians will be put in place along with eight pedestrian crossings for people to wait to cross the street between lanes of traffic.
CDOT says it doesn’t expect the area to be closed to traffic during construction.
“Sometimes, there will be single-lane closures,” Fowler said. “Sometimes, there will be double-lane closures, but at no time will there be closures that won’t allow traffic to go through. So we just encourage motorists to make sure that they’re driving safely through that corridor and with caution.”
CDOT says studies show that raised medians reduce the likelihood of crashes, noting that a raised median placed along Federal Boulevard and 52nd Avenue has reduced crashes by 12 percent.