Town of Vail to release construction schedule for South Frontage Road roundabout during virtual open house March 18

The Town of Vail on Monday issued the following press release about its construction schedule for a new South Frontage Road roundabout:

The Town of Vail is hosting a virtual open house at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 18 to introduce the construction schedule for the South Frontage Road Roundabout project. Property owners, residents, commuters and others impacted by the 7-month project are encouraged to register to attend the online kick off. The meeting will be recorded and posted to the project webpage at www.vailgov.com/roundaboutproject for anyone unable to join the session.

Construction of the South Frontage Road Roundabout project will begin April 12, following the close of ski season, and is scheduled to be completed by early November. The project includes construction of a new two-lane roundabout just west of the Vail municipal building and Vail Health. The project also includes extending the existing four-lane roadway section with landscape medians and sidewalks from the municipal building west to the Lionshead parking structure.

During the open house, an overview of the project and the three phases of construction will be presented by Town Engineer Tom Kassmel who will manage the project on behalf of the town. The presentation will also introduce members of the construction team including representatives from the general contractor and the project design team. The 30-minute virtual overview will conclude with a question and answer session for participants.

Once construction begins, work will be taking place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday with the option to work seven days a week as necessary. Night work is not anticipated but may be accommodated if needed.

During construction, an open travel lane will always be provided in each direction. Access to Vail Health hospital, Vail municipal complex, recycle center, Evergreen Lodge and Lionshead parking structure will be maintained. However, there may be short durations of alternating single lane traffic during critical phases of the work. Access points to public and private properties will always be maintained with detours to temporary access drives as needed.

The project will be completed in three major phases:

Phase 1 | April – June
Includes the project’s most impactful work to access points and adjacent properties. Work within this phase includes the eastbound traffic lanes, the southern sidewalk, southern retaining wall, utilities and the southern access points.

Phase 2 | July – August
Includes the project’s less impactful work and minimizes impacts to access points and adjacent properties. Work within this phase includes the construction of the westbound lanes, northern sidewalk and utilities.

Phase 3 | October – September
Includes the project’s final completion with median/landscape work, final tie-ins and final asphalt surfacing.

The $6.5 million project is being funded by an allocation from the Vail Reinvestment Authority with additional participation from Vail Health and Eagle River Water & Sanitation District. The general contractor will be employing local subcontractors whenever possible during all stages of construction.

When completed, the improvements will provide increased capacity for traffic flowing from the Vail Town Center roundabout to the Lionshead parking structure while accommodating the increased traffic volumes at the new Vail Health South Frontage Road entrance and anticipated future growth and redevelopment within the Lionshead area. The improvements were identified during the early stages of the Vail Health redevelopment process as indicated within the Vail Valley Medical Center Site Specific Redevelopment Master Pan adopted in 2015.

To sign up for weekly project updates by email, subscribe here or to view maps of the three construction phases, visit  www.vailgov.com/roundaboutproject. For questions about the project, contact Tom Kassmel at tkassmel@vailgov.com or call 970-479-2235.