Projects planned for the Dillon Dam Road will begin Monday. August 1, shutting the road down through Sept. 2.
While Denver Water crews implement safety improvements intended to allow the road to remain open to traffic 24 hours a day, the county will work to rebuild the recpath in places, resurface the road and enlarge Old Dillon Reservoir.
The county projects to improve the recpath and road will cost a total of $450,000.
When the road reopens in September, officials promise drivers will notice significant changes and improvements.
A reconstructed recpath will be finished with brick-red coloring to help differentiate it from the street where it runs adjacent to the road.
“When you're coming from the Frisco side, the first thing people will see is a beautiful new red recreation path alongside the roadway,” assistant county manager Thad Noll said. “That's going to be spectacular. It will have a nice surface on it and it will make the riders safer and the vehicles safer.”
The road itself, which has suffered the normal wear and tear of Summit County winters, will also be resurfaced where it runs alongside the recpath near the campgrounds.
County officials also promise a bigger Old Dillon Reservoir out of the project, which will hold a surplus water supply for Dillon, Silverthorne and Summit County when needed. (Old Dillon Dam is located between the Dam Road and I-70 and is not visible from the road.)
Security enhancements
The Dillon Dam security taskforce, a coalition of Denver Water and local government and safety officials, is behind the other set of projects to be completed next month, which, they say will enhance security on the road and allow traffic access 24 hours a day.
The project includes a new guard shack and roundabout at each end of the roadway, as well as some improved lighting. Dam guards have been working out of their vehicles over the past several years since additional security measures were implemented.
“The security buildings will be very good looking and will look like somebody really thought about what was going in there,” Noll said.
Traffic will be able to pass through the site without interruption from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. when the work is complete, but drivers will experience minimal delays when crossing the road at night, officials stated.
Access to the campgrounds in Frisco will not be impacted by the work, Noll said, though there will be occasional closures on the recreation path.
“Bicycle and pedestrian access will remain open for most of the time, but will need to be closed for a few days early in the projects to allow for a deep trench to be cut across the road and recpath,” Noll said in an email. He said the county would keep the public informed of those occasional closures using the SC Alert system.
