All left turns at CO 119 and Hover Street in Longmont will close for construction starting in early September

See video and map detours to find out how to get around for the next year as new bridge is built to improve safety and efficiency

Longmont – In order to safely build the new southwest bound bridge on Colorado Highway 119 at Hover Street in Longmont, all left turns at the intersection will be closed in early September and remain closed until the project is complete next year.

The right turn from southbound Hover Street to CO 119 will also be closed. All of the closures will give the construction team safe space to build the new bridge for vehicles.

“Building a bridge in the middle of the busiest intersection in Longmont while also maintaining all business access isn’t going to be easy,” said Colorado Department of Transportation Regional Transportation Director Heather Paddock. “But by closing some turns and everyone planning their trips thoughtfully, construction will be completed quicker, construction for workers and the public will be safer and it will reduce overall impacts to businesses and the traveling public.”

The basic concept of building a bridge to go over Hover Street for Boulder-bound traffic will make it more efficient for traffic as there will be one entire sequence of traffic lights that won’t be needed, increasing green light time for everyone. Additionally, grade separating will improve safety and reduce traffic and pedestrian conflicts. CDOT previously released a video about what and why this is happening and you can see it here: https://youtu.be/8TjyJ367Mig?si=PzlpjkM77oqCl2ex

All businesses will maintain access throughout construction.

The only access that will be closed until the project is complete is a right-in access to PNC Bank. The bank and other businesses nearby are still accessible from the many other entries from CO 119 and Hover Street to the mall area.

In early July, prep work began at the intersection with the removal of one of the left turn lanes from CO 119 to Hover Street and placement of some temporary signals and temporary pavement for the upcoming traffic shift. As soon as the beginning of September, things are going to be changing and staying that way for about a year.

To allow the construction team to have room to build the bridge and all the other pieces that will tie-in to it, drivers will no longer be able to left at the Colorado 119 and Hover intersection. Most of the right turns will still be open. Through-traffic will proceed as it does today.

Here are a few ways to get around without making those turns (you can also see a short video on the detours here: https://youtu.be/VL23D_Ipy9w

Hover Street to Boulder-bound CO 119

This is the one right turn from southbound Hover Street to CO 119 that will be closed for the next year. But you have some choices:

• You can go west on Clover Basin Drive and then south on Airport Road to CO 119
• Or, you can continue through the intersection south on Hover which turns into 95th Avenue until you get to Colorado Highway 52 and go west to CO 119

Hover Street to eastbound CO 119

• You can go east on Nelson Road to CO 119
• Or, take Pike Road east to Sunset Street and go north to CO 119

CO 119 to northbound Hover Street

• From Boulder, before getting to the intersection, turn north on Airport Road and connect to Hover Street via either Clover Basin Drive or Nelson Road.
• Westbound CO 119 travelers can turn right on Nelson Road to connect to Hover.

CO 119 to southbound Hover Street

• For Boulder-bound CO 119, before you get to the intersection, turn west on Nelson Road to Hover Street and go south.
• Or, turn south on Sunset Street to westbound Pike Road to Hover Street which becomes 95th Avenue.
• If you are eastbound on CO 119, you can also turn south on CO 52 to 95th Avenue which turns into Hover Street (not on the map below).

What is the CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Improvements Project?

By the year 2040, the Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont is expected to see a 25% increase in vehicular traffic. Increased traffic can result in more congestion, delays, tailpipe emissions and, potentially, more crashes.

This project is delivering safety, mobility and bikeway improvements to enhance safety for all modes and make transit travel faster and more reliable. The project is designed to integrate with other active multimodal projects on the corridor to ensure community members can safely and reliably travel throughout the corridor using their preferred mode(s) of transportation.

This project will:

• Improve safety throughout the corridor.
• Maximize the number of people able to move through the corridor.
• Maximize intersection operational efficiency.
• Improve transit travel times and increase ridership.
• Maximize corridor-wide operational efficiency.
• Increase opportunities for bicycle commuting and connectivity to the bicycle and pedestrian network.

Specific corridor improvements include:

• New signage, striping and improved signal timing at all pedestrian crossings at signalized intersections.
• Signal timing adjustments at key intersections (Jay Road, 63rd Street, CO 52, Niwot Road and Airport Road).
• Adding a commuter bikeway and several local connections between northbound and southbound CO 119, and underpasses or overpasses at major intersections for uninterrupted crossing.
• Physically reconfiguring the CO 52 intersection to improve safety and to accommodate new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations and the Diagonal Bikeway between the northbound and southbound travel lanes.
• Changing access at Airport Road and CO 119 to reduce crashes and improve safety and traffic flow.
• Adding a bridge at Hover Street in Longmont to allow free-flowing vehicular traffic southwest bound on CO 119 with additional safety, bike and pedestrian improvements at the intersection as well.

During construction, CO 119/Diagonal Highway will largely remain configured as it currently operates, with various lane shifts and closures. Additional information will be provided prior to any major closures or detour routes throughout the project duration. In addition, lane and shoulder widths will be minimized. The speed limit will be reduced. Please pay attention and follow posted speed limits. Kraemer North America is the general contractor for this project.

CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Improvements Project Contact Information

• Project phone line: 720-378-8083
• Project email: co119safetyandmobility@gmail.com
• CDOT CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Improvements Project webpage
• CDOT CO 119 & Hover Intersection project webpage