'We're done': New and improved U.S. 34 opens to the public

BIG THOMPSON CANYON — During the 2013 flood, Drake was heavily damaged and the community was isolated.

One resident, who ran out of oxygen, wasn't daunted. He went to the Colorado Department of Transportation site, grabbed some acetylene torches that crews use for welding and converted them to oxygen to survive as emergency personnel got people in and out of the canyon. He also took a generator.

At the end of the disaster, that resident came back, replaced all the acetlyne and returned the generator.

"They're pretty resilient people in the canyon," said Johnny Olson, Colorado Department of Transportation Region 4 director.

And CDOT's goal was to make sure the road that goes through the canyon is repaired to be just as resilient as the people who live along it.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, after two eight-month closures that first started in August 2016, the new and improved U.S. Highway 34 — the main route between Loveland and Estes Park — will reopen to the public.

When asked about his confidence in the road withstanding another flood, Olson said "I'm about 95 percent sure. You can't ever be 100 perfect against Mother Nature. If we have something similar to what we had or what happened in '76, I am very confident, 95 percent sure, that we're going to have some sustainability."

There might be trees and debris that cause damage, he added, but he's confident emergency crews and people will be able to get in and out of the canyon in the area that saw the most helicopter evacuations nationally after Hurricane Katrina.

Improvements to the road totaled about $300 million, the majority coming from the federal government for repairs and the remainder from CDOT for safety improvements.

While the heavy work on the roadway is complete, some work remains on guardrails, paving and asphalt, as well as on Larimer County access bridges. These finishing touches won't detour members of the public during the day, but there could be 20-minute delays and night closures.

More: A look back at Coloradoan's coverage of the 1976 flood

Kiewit Corp. and CDOT construction crews installed 95,000 cubic yards of rock to armor the roadway from flooding erosion, 20,000 linear feet of river improvements and 4,000 linear feet of new drainage pipe. They also completed construction on the Horseshoe Bridge structures near mile marker 78, east of Drake. That's where crews realigned the roadway to cut through the mountain away from the river.

CDOT and Kiewit crews used riprap protection, soil-cement mixing and an embankment protection concept called a spider wall. About 200,000 cubic yards of rock that was excavated but not used for the road base will be used for the major widening project along Interstate 25, according to Jared Fiel, CDOT spokesman.

Olson said for those just driving through the canyon, much of the 4-mile stretch of road won't look that different than before the flood because crews dug below the river to the bedrock — 7 to 10 feet in some places — to make improvements. They also blasted new shoulders.

More: Deadly Deluge: 1976 Big Thompson Flood

"A lot of the damage to the road happened from underneath," he said. That's also why some residents thought the temporary repairs on the road immediately after the flood were enough. However, they wouldn't have been enough to maintain the road in a future flood.

That's not to say the road won't sustain damage in a future flood, but the goal is to make the damage a lot less for the road and surrounding properties, allow for emergency vehicles to get in and out during a disaster and ensure that construction crews won't have to undertake a similar road construction project for permanent repairs.

"It's a lot easier to rebuild a road if you have something to build from," Olson said.

Some areas, like the Horseshoe curve, which was destroyed in both the 1976 and 2013 floods, will have visible differences, including relocating the road to the south of the river and raising the road onto bedrock.

Another area of significant change is the Drake area, where crews removed 70,000 cubic yards of material along the river. That change is intended to allow the river to spread out more during a flood and lose some of its force.

"The river has a lot more room to work in harmony," said Jason Hagerty, Kiewit project manager. "Given that the river has a lot more room, I think the damage (in a flood) will be a lot less, not just to the road but to private (properties) as well."

MORE: Then and now photos of the 2013 flood

In the area referred to as "the slide" past Drake, crews utilized matrix riprap to protect the river and prevent erosion from underneath the river.

"It's pretty amazing to see what they accomplished and it's also a relief to say, 'Hey we're done,' ... We're going to be out of here so (residents) are going to be able to get back to their normal life," Olson said.

Reporter Saja Hindi covers public safety, courts and accountability. Follow her on Twitter @BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.