County road 77 reopen, work complete ahead of schedule

Published on October 09, 2024

The second phase of improvements to Weld County Road (WCR) 77 is complete. The road, located north of Briggsdale from WCR 100 to WCR 120, reopened Monday, 11 days ahead of its anticipated reopening date of Oct. 18.

“We know this project caused residents to endure a lengthy detour and we thank them for their patience,” said Kevin Ross, Weld County Commissioner Chair. “We’re excited this road is open ahead of schedule and excited to continue to improve WCR 77, which is a key transportation route throughout northern Weld County."

Those improvements to WCR 77 centered mainly between WCR 100 and WCR 106 and were focused largely on improving the road structure and the installation and creation of a new driving surface. Crews removed the existing asphalt and replaced it through full-depth reclamation (FDR), a process that reuses a portion of the road’s existing asphalt. FDR has been successfully used to rebuild several county roads, including a portion of WCR 77 between Highway 14 and WCR 100, which was completed last year.

“We know that this road is heavily used by residents in northern Weld County, and the goal of our work was to improve the road so it could continue to meet demand safely,” said Curtis Hall, Director of the Weld County Department of Public Works. “We believe these improvements will accomplish that goal, and the fact we were able to beat our deadline speaks to the work ethic of our team and our commitment to deliver the best improvements as quickly as possible.”

Other improvements included replacing seven culverts and lowering a hill on WCR 77 to correct a sight-distance issue. Bridge 77/106A, located north of WCR 106, was also reconstructed to include a new bridge deck, guardrails and driving surface. Reconstructing the bridge under this closure will make future repairs to WCR 77 easier and more efficient.

While most of the money for this phase —$1.7 million — came from Public Works’ budget, in November of 2023, the county accepted a $200,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to go toward construction.

Work at a glance

roject length: Four months

Asphalt removed: 11,400 tons

New asphalt placed: 26,868 tons

Base course placed: 19,638 tons

Days spent removing asphalt: 14

Days spent paving: 19

Bulk cement for FDR: 1,425 tons

Culverts replaced: Seven (Three cross culverts and four access culverts)

Signs placed: 10

Delineators placed: 17

Acres seeded and mulched: 16

Erosion logs placed: 145

Silt fence placed: 3,650 linear feet