Wheat Ridge Breaks Ground On Wadsworth Improvement Project

WHEAT RIDGE, CO — To kick off construction for the Wadsworth Improvement Project, Wheat Ridge officials celebrated with a groundbreaking. The event took place at 7575 W. 44th St. in Wheat Ridge.

The project will include traffic improvements along Interstate-70 to 35th Avenue in Wheat Ridge.

In 2016, Wheat Ridge voters supported a temporary sales and use tax increase to complete four projects. One of those projects is to relieve traffic congestion, improve business access, and provide better options for pedestrians and cyclists on Wadsworth Boulevard.

While the local match is funded by the temporary sales and use tax increase, the majority of the project is funded through federal and state highway improvement grants.

According to city officials, Wadsworth was last improved in 1950, and this project includes modernizing the roadway from 35th Avenue to I-70 with efficient and safe intersection designs at 38th and 44th Avenues, creating safer entrances and exits for vehicles accessing businesses, and adding a continuous sidewalk on the west and a bike/pedestrian path on the east side of Wadsworth from 35th Avenue to the Clear Creek Trail.

Concrete Works of Colorado was awarded the project and will start preparing the area adjacent to southbound Wadsworth for temporary roadway this month, city officials confirmed.

Soon all traffic will shift to the west side of the road allowing construction to begin on the new northbound lanes and improvements along the east side of Wadsworth. The contractor team will work through the winter to relocate and install new utilities. In 2022, most of the work will be focused on the area north of 38th Avenue. Once improvements are complete on the east side, construction activities will move to the other side of Wadsworth.

City officials said Wadsworth will be under construction for two years and keeping residents informed of the project progress is a priority. The first phase of work involves demolition and grading activity adjacent to southbound Wadsworth in order to pave temporary roadways. Once temporary roadways are paved, all traffic will shift to the west side of the road in order to construct the new northbound lanes and improvements along the east side of Wadsworth.

Business access and two lanes in each direction will be maintained throughout construction. Overnight and infrequent off-peak lane closures are expected. There is also a plan to address any potential traffic concerns within neighborhoods. Project completion is anticipated for late 2023.

Schedule and traffic impact information will be updated weekly and posted to this link. To receive traffic alerts about changes to traffic patterns and lane closures, commuters can subscribe to Traffic Alerts on Notify Me on the City website. Traffic detours and suggested routes will also be available on CDOT’s COTrip.org app.