Next FasTracks traffic headache: W. 13th Ave.

LAKEWOOD – Starting next week FasTracks construction will force rolling closures of two-block stretches along West 13th Avenue while installing a large underground culvert in a project that is expected to continue through spring.

The work will bury the culvert under the tracks of the oncoming West Corridor light rail line between Zephyr and Carr streets and will be based mainly on the north side of West 13th Ave. Crews will excavate a large ditch along the path of the future tracks and install segments of the concrete culvert.

Although most of the work will be on the north side of the road, the culvert switches to the south side of West 13th just east of Zephyr.

The work, which will start at Zephyr, will move west in two-block increments past Allison, Ammons, Balsam and Brentwood streets. When the culvert reaches Carr Street, that street will be completely closed while crews install the culvert across Carr and part of Richey Park, according to a press release issued Friday by the Denver Transit Construction Group. DTCG is an umbrella coalition of West Corridor contractors.

The two-block closures along West 13th will apply to pedestrians as well as motorists, but local access will be permitted, according to the announcement.

Heavy equipment and operation of a 24/7 water pumps used in the project are expected to raise dust and noise levels during the planned project, and the construction group hopes to contain much of the dust by using water trucks to hose down the work sites as construction progresses. But the planned 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-through-Friday work schedules could give way to weekend and evening work if needed. If the work hours or days are extended, nearby residents will be notified.

In addition to the heavy equipment, which also will be moving along Carr Street from West Colfax Avenue during the work, crews will park their person vehicles on the right-of-way as the project continues, further complicating access.