Motorists traveling through downtown Cortez should expect to see traffic cones and utility workers until the end of this week or early next week.
Cortez Public Works Director Phil Johnson told KSJD this is the second phase of a project by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to upgrade Cortez street intersections.
“[Right now] they’re on Ash Street and moving west, so they’ll be done when they get to Maple,” Johnson said.
CDOT has been working on two intersections a day since last week, and Johnson said the project should be finished by early next week unless any construction challenges come up.
CDOT construction foreman Robert Delafuente said they are putting in new side-mounted stop lights, adding new signs and reflectors, and installing traffic sensors, which are the white square boxes mounted just underneath the lights. Johnson said they’ll allow drivers to turn left onto Main Street without having to wait through a complete timer cycle when traffic volume is low.
“It’ll sit there and make sure that you’re sitting there, and then it will engage the signal,” he said.
Johnson reminds drivers to be careful and observant of workers directing traffic until the project is complete.
