120th Street improvement project underway in Boulder County, will close road until October

For those who live or travel through Boulder County, there is a road project that will impact the commute.

120th Street between Rock Creek Circle and Dillon Road will be closed for roadwork for the next five months. This means the road will not reopen to pedestrians, bikers, and drivers until the first week of October. The work is needed to make the road safer.

Boulder County Public Works says construction will widen the roads, so they can add two five-foot paved shoulders. This will provide separate options for bikes and pedestrians, while adding areas for disabled vehicles and emergency responders.

Crews will flatten down some of the steep hills to reduce fuel use and noise from loud trucks. A northbound left-hand turn will be added to improve safety.

At this time, there is no way to fully see over the hill. Crews want to eliminate any and all blind spots to prevent crashes, so they will also flatten the hills to provide drivers with full visibility. 

"It's really important when cars are coming at each other that they can see," Andrew Barth, communications manager for Boulder County Public Works, said. "If you can't see over the hillside in front of you and there's a car that has drifted or a disabled vehicle going on over that hill, you are just looking for problems. It's immediate impact dangers."

This is a sales tax-funded project. The total cost of design and construction for the project is $4.75 million.

Crews say full road closures are necessary to stay within their October timeframe.