Editor’s note: The date of the closure has been corrected to Oct. 19 to Oct. 20.

Colorado Department of Transportation officials were greeted with a frustrated crowd Monday night at a community meeting aimed at garnering feedback on the Colo. 119 Boulder Canyon project.

The meeting filled a room at the Nederland Community Center with area residents and business owners who have grown weary of the work on a 15-mile stretch of Colo. 119 that has closed the roadway for blasting for four hours a day since March, as well as for longer unexpected periods, such as when blasting caused a rock slide that brought down 20 times more rock than expected. That slide on Sept. 11 was expected to close the road for up to three days, but CDOT was able to reopen it the next day.

Their frustration was not eased by the update which said the work could continue into 2021.

In March, crews began working on the 15-mile stretch between Boulder and Nederland that was damaged in the 2013 floods.The work includes heavy rock blasting, resurfacing, building concrete islands, installing new signage, replacing pipes, replacing guardrails and more.

Currently, the canyon has closures from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursdays, which originally was slated to end this summer. But CDOT announced last month that blasting would continue into fall, with Dan Marcucci, resident engineer for CDOT, telling Monday’s crowd that it is “looking at four-hour closures through December, with late winter single-lane closures.”

“There are impacts potentially mid-2021,” Marcucci said. “That’s painting the worst-case scenario.”

The repairs and improvements, which are being led by contractor Longmont contractor Zak Dirt, will cost $31 million. Federal disaster recovery funding is covering $12 million of the cost.

“We figured the best thing to do is get (CDOT and Zak Dirt) out here and answer questions, take some feedback, and make sure everybody knows why what’s happening … and what lies ahead,”state Sen. Stephen Fenberg told the crowd on Monday. “The purpose today is for you to learn, but also for CDOT and the contractor to learn about where the community is, how it impacts the community.”

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said they need ideas from residents.

“Frankly, we’re not quite at the point in having clarity and what exactly the next steps from getting here to the completion part is because we need feedback from all of you,” she said.

There are different options, moving forward, but none may be perfect for everyone, Lew said.

Options include reducing the rock excavation quantity, full road closures, and/or reducing the roadway reconstruction areas.

“They all have their pros and cons,” Marcucci said.

Many in the audience protested the full closures, many yelling at CDOT officials.

“So without traffic, we could really go and get more production done,” Marcucci said. “If we were to move forward with something like this, it would be a lot of pain for a lot of gain short term. We can accomplish many months of work in two weeks.”

He said during four-hour lane closures, crews are able to blast for two hours while the other two are for setting up and cleaning up.

Marcucci said in total, the crews have conducted 35 blasts in the canyon, totaling 30,000 yards but still estimate there are 34,000 more yards to go.

While many residents voiced their frustration about the work and the inconvenience it is causing, one resident offered insight.

“Many times there are great solutions, we would like to see some alternatives,” said Dave Evans, a Nederland resident. “What are the ideas or possibilities, we would entertain feedback. It’s not black or white situation, we are open the possibilities. Please give (us) alternatives and options.”

CDOT officials said the presentation and meeting will be posted online on Tuesday.

Full-day closure planned

On Oct. 19 Colo. 119 will be closed from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. Oct. 20 to allow crews to remove potentially unstable rock ledge above Boulder Canyon.

The 3,000 cubic yard blast is necessary, officials said, to ensure the safety of Colo. 119 users and will require more cleanup than regular scheduled blasts.

To learn about Colo. 119 closures

By email: An email is sent as a traffic advisory when the roadway impacts change on a week-to-week basis. To subscribe to these emails, please email the public information team at CDOTCO119@gmail.com.

By text: Subscribe to the free texting service by texting CO119 to the number 21000. This service will primarily be used to communicate upcoming closures on the highway.

By phone: The project number (720-500-9912) has an outgoing message that is updated weekly with updates, a summary of impacts to the highway and trail, and estimated delay times through the canyon. The CDOT project web page will be updated with the latest traffic advisory as they are distributed.

On the web: codot.gov/projects/co-119-boulder-canyon-improvements