NEWS RELEASE
BOULDER COUNTY
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The Public Works Department is planning to reconstruct North 95th Street between Valmont and Lookout roads starting in late 2023 and continuing through the end of 2024. The project includes improvements to protect the road and surrounding open space from damage during future flood events as the area has seen significant flooding over the past 20 years, including 2013 and 2015. This is the final segment of a multi-year effort to reconstruct North 95th Street between Lafayette and Longmont.
Public Works staff will host a virtual public meeting to discuss the project, answer questions, and collect feedback on the design:
Virtual North 95th Street Reconstruction Public Meeting
Tuesday, Sept. 20
6 to 7:30 p.m. Via Zoom (registration is required)
Register Today – www.BoCo.org/north-95th-street
About the project
Flooding of Boulder Creek in 2013 and 2015 overtopped 95th Street north of Boulder Cree when flows in the creek exceeded channel capacity. These storm events caused significant damage to the roadway, exposed critical utility infrastructure, and left the City of Boulder’s Boulder Valley Farm property strewn with debris. The 2013 event closed 95th Street for more than three weeks as the road remained under water and subsequent repairs could not be completed for many days after water receded.
The current design calls for the installation of six large reinforced concrete box culverts directly north of the existing bridge over Boulder Creek to carry excess flood water during 5- and 10-year storms. The boxes will remain dry at most other times and are designed to provide safe passage for wildlife traveling along the creek corridor. Natural-bottomed floodways will be built both east and west of 95th Street to convey flood water from one gravel pond to another. 95th Street will be raised slightly across the floodplain to help water find the floodway and constructed to allow water to flow over the road during any event larger than a 10-year flood.
95th Street has not been repaved in many years and needs to be reconstructed from the ground up. The project will reconstruct the road at its current width, including five-foot shoulders, along with some changes to the vertical grade to improve safety and reduce road noise caused by vehicles speeding up and slowing down on hills. In addition, a left-turn lane will be installed for northbound traffic at Owl Lane.
Potential travel impacts during construction
In order to safely install the new concrete culverts, North 95th Street will need to be closed at Boulder Creek for multiple months. The exact timing is to be determined as designs progress and a contractor is selected. When the road is open during the project, there may be temporary traffic signals installed as the road will be reduced to a single lane. Motorists can also expect to see flaggers in other locations during daytime working hours. The project is expected to take six months to complete.
For more information, visit the project website at www.BoCo.org/north-95th-
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