Brighton City Council moves forward with build-out plans for Tower Road, Southern Street

BRIGHTON — City officials have plans to extend two segments of roadway near the Pheasant Ridge neighborhood this year.

City Council unanimously selected Martin/Martin, Inc. to design an interim roadway at Tower Road from Bridge Street to Bromley, and Southern Street from Telluride to 45th Avenue, during its March 5 meeting.

Streets and Fleets Director Joe Smith said the asphalt roadways will be 24 feet wide and span a mile in each direction. He said the roadways are temporary, and that the city is initially looking to make these roads connect until they can be built out into multi-lane roads. He said the plan is for Tower Road to eventually be built out into a four-lane road and for the Southern Street portion to become a three-lane roadway.

“This is really a big part of the grid that’s missing,” Smith said. “Hopefully this will eliminate a little bit of that traffic at 50th (Avenue) and Frontage Road.”

City Manager Manual Esquibel said the project is going to be “a major access improvement,” as it will open up another avenue from north to south, which is critical for that area. He said it will also serve as another route for parents and school district employees to get to the schools in that area as well as to Brighton 27J's Educational Services Center.

Smith said emergency responders have also been interested in having connecting roads in this area.

The design by Martin/Martin, Inc. will include the plan and profile drawings, street sections, signage and striping plans, as well as any necessary storm sewer and drainage work. The design is projected to cost $63,360, with the money coming from professional service funds carried over from last year. Smith estimates the construction of the project will cost $1.4 million and be complete by the end of the year.

Although Martin/Martin, Inc. was not the lowest bidder for the project, Smith explained the firm covered every thing in the proposal, seemed to understand the city’s drainage needs and, most importantly, has the expertise in similar projects. Smith said the city has used firm before, has always been happy with them and that their projects always end up under budget.

Councilwoman Wilma Rose expressed her concern about including a walkway in the project so children would have a safe place to walk to school. Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Scott and council members Cynthia Martinez and Chris Maslanik echoed her concerns.

“Even if we have to connect our sidewalk with an asphalt sidewalk like we did at Prairie View (High School), I’m gonna say very firmly that we need to find that money somewhere and make that happen,” Maslanik said.

Smith said Parks and Recreation Director Gary Wardle is working to find grant funding so they can construct a sidewalk east to west along Southern Street. He said there is a half-mile gap on Southern Street to 45th Avenue and that’s the area he would like to address first.

Esquibel said city officials will be coming back to council in the future for an intergovernmental agreement with Adams County for the half-mile section of roadway that lies in the county.

Smith said in the city’s discussion with the county, county officials have indicated they would pave the road if the city designs the road and gets it ready for paving.