136th Year... and
still
on the job!
Saturday December 17,
2005
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136th Year... and
still
on the job!
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Saturday December 17,
2005
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While the effort to destroy 2,600 tons of mustard agent at the Pueblo Chemical Depot has been stalled this year as government officials and contractors work to redesign the project, at least $15 million in federal funds have been spent on construction-related work with another $18.6 million expected to be coming next year.
The money has mainly been used by prime contractor Bechtel to provide a new access to the Pueblo Chemical Depot for construction workers and employees of the demilitarization plant.
Bechtel also has brought in White Shield of Kennewick, Wash., and C&M Consultants of Pueblo to do $150,000 worth of surveying and Kleinfelder Inc. of Pueblo to do soil testing, a $230,000 project.
Currently, commuters to Bechtel's office building at the northern end of the depot must drive through the main gate just off U.S. 50, as do other contractors.
The traditional access road and bridge over the highway needed a lot of work, so it was decided to create a new access point that would be used exclusively for the chem demil project, keeping the old gate open for Reuse Authority tenants and Army personnel at the base.
The new gate is located on the DOT road that runs from the city's airport industrial park to the Transportation Technology Center.
A new road, dubbed the "northwest passage," is being constructed by RBK Construction of Rye, a $6.75 million project. RBK also received a $2.5 million contract for a fencing along the new road.
In addition, Richard E. Gash Electric of Wheat Ridge won the $6 million contract for a new control point where vehicles will enter from the DOT road.
Next year, Pueblo County, using $18.6 million in funds being transferred from the Defense Department to the Federal Highway Administration, will start work on the Defense Access Road project, a multifaceted program to widen the DOT Road from the access point to the industrial park, widen United Avenue and William White Boulevard through the industrial park and extend William White to Colorado 47.
A portion of Colorado 47 also will be widened to allow for a left-turn lane for vehicles entering the William White extension from the north.
That project will be a major improvement for the industrial park. The only access now is Paul Harvey Boulevard from U.S. 50, where a viaduct has been flooded in the past.