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Lighting Up Main & Mill is a Noisy Task

One of three construction projects at the busiest intersection in downtown Aspen is almost done with its first phase. But it won’t be entirely finished until the middle of next month. Aspen Public Radio’s Carolyn Sackariason reports.

A group of children exits the Pitkin County Library. They may unfamiliar with the sounds on the street, but any pedestrian or motorist who’s been on Mill Street lately has no doubt heard all kinds of construction activity. From catering trucks and backhoes to jackhammers and massive drills, welcome to the sounds of spring in Aspen.

Andy Welgos works at Reese Henry Company, an accounting firm located on the corner of Main and Mill. He says it’s been taxing getting to work and enduring the noise.

“It’s been tax season and it’s been hard on us, the employees mainly because we are having to deal with the noise. The clients are only here for a little bit and they just feel bad for us,” he says. “For me getting here it can be interesting coming across because all the walkways are closed off.”

Multiple projects are happening simultaneously along Mill, from Main Street down to Puppy Smith Road. One of the larger projects is brought to you by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

From her quiet office in Glenwood Springs, CDOT spokeswoman Tracy Truelove acknowledges it’s a pain for the public but it’s a project that’s long overdue.

“Really the work to replace the traffic signal is because it’s an aging traffic signal at obviously a busy intersection in Aspen,” she says. “So really just the lifespan of it was up and we needed to put something else in there. ”

The crew is about halfway done with the six-week project. They are expected to be done with the first phase of it by early next week and then the public will get a short reprieve until crews will be back for the more impactful part of the job.

“We’ll be out of there for about two weeks while the new mast arms and poles arrive,” she says. “There will be some other impacts that include short duration closures when the new mast arms are attached. So they kind have their one run getting stuff in place to be prepared to the next piece.”

Since the beginning of this month, crews have been boring holes in the sidewalk at the four corners of the intersection. A giant drill towers over a two-story building at the southeast corner. It grinds through layers of concrete and rock to reach a depth of 16 feet. New traffic light poles will be placed here.

They’ve been moved in a few feet to ensure cars don’t hit them, which is one reason they are being replaced.

Nils Heyerdahl, who works for WL Contractors Inc. He jokes that his project is louder than the library’s down the street.

The CDOT project costs nearly a half million dollars. It also involves redoing the pedestrian curbs so they meet ADA requirements.

While the new curbs are designed for easier walking, right now it’s a bit of a challenge. For Jeffery Myers, who is working on the job for WL Contractors Inc., it’s been a pleasure interacting with the public here.

“WL is really grateful for all the help we’ve gotten from the people because they’ve been really nice,” he says. “We haven’t had a lot of whining and complaining or any of that so that’s always nice to see.”

Truelove says the project is expected to be complete in mid-May.

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