As of Jan. 3, commuters on Colorado Highway 119, also known as the Diagonal Highway, will need to adjust to a new reality. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has announced that the Monarch Road median, which slices through the northbound and southbound lanes of CO 119, will shut down for the CO 119 Safety, Mobility, and Bikeway Improvements Project. According to CDOT, the median closure is permanent, effectively rerouting all traffic and modes of transportation currently relying on this crossway.
In place of the old junction, workers are to reconstruct Monarch Road into a right-in/right-out intersection with CO 119. Concurrently, they will also be shifting the southbound CO 119 traffic onto newly paved temporary lanes. This adjustment, while an inconvenience to some, stems from a careful analysis of severe crash data, which prompted engineers and traffic staff from both CDOT and Boulder County to decide on this course of action. It's a move designed to curb the high incidence of critical accidents that have plagued the area.
For drivers seeking to access Monarch Road on either side, CDOT advises using Niwot Road as an alternative route. A map has been provided to help locals and visitors alike navigate the detour and understand the new traffic layout. With safety as the paramount concern, officials at CDOT, in collaboration with Boulder County, deemed this disruption a necessary one for the welfare of the community.
"After carefully considering and reviewing the traffic crash data from the high number of severe crashes that have happened here, the project’s engineers and traffic staff, in partnership with Boulder County, ultimately decided to close the Monarch Road crossing at CO 119/Diagonal Highway," said the engineers behind the project, as per CDOT.
This project ties into a greater initiative to improve roadway safety and user experience along CO 119, which encompasses bicyclists and pedestrians besides commuting motorists. As the project progresses, residents may need to remain flexible and continually adapt to additional changes put forth by CDOT to foster a secure computing environment.
