Motorists traveling into and out of Estes Park can expect shoulder closures this week as crews begin work on a state project to improve communications infrastructure and roadway monitoring.
The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Dillie and Kuhn are scheduled to begin work Monday, June 22, through Wednesday, June 24, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 36 and Mall Road in Estes Park.
The work, located between mile points 1.48 and 1.50, will involve potholing and boring conduit for fiber-optic cable, as well as installing infrastructure for a new traffic camera pole. Construction activities will occur on both sides of U.S. 36.
CDOT said impacts to motorists are expected to be minimal, with only shoulder closures planned during the three-day operation.
The Estes Park work is part of a broader CDOT project to expand fiber-optic communications and traffic monitoring capabilities in northern Colorado.
The project will bring fiber-optic cable to Colorado Highway 66 and install new traffic cameras along U.S. 36. Fiber-optic infrastructure is being constructed between Interstate 25 and Lyons to support communications for the traffic camera network before crews move into the U.S. 36 corridor.
According to CDOT, the fiber-optic system will improve internet connectivity for communities, support traffic cameras and other transportation technologies, and enhance communications used by emergency services.
The planned traffic cameras are expected to provide real-time monitoring of road conditions and traffic flow. CDOT officials said the cameras will help first responders reach incidents more quickly because they are monitored around the clock by the department’s operations centers.
The cameras will also provide motorists and snowplow operators with up-to-date information on roadway conditions and help authorities monitor a canyon corridor that has experienced flooding, wildfires, heavy snowfall, and high winds.
CDOT said the cameras will assist traffic managers in responding to incidents, encourage safer driving behavior through their visible presence, and collect transportation data for future planning and infrastructure improvements.
Enhanced fiber for the canyon is great. More surveillance by cameras is bad for the USA. Let’s just hope these are not AI or license plate recording cameras/systems (like Flock camera systems) but are just regular cameras that show a view of the road conditions to help drivers and CDOT maintenance activities. I guess we will find out.