Part of I-25 Express Lane to close for years in northern Colorado

WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A portion of the Interstate 25 Express Lane in northern Colorado will close for at least three years.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) said it will close the southbound I-25 Express Lane between Johnstown and Berthoud starting at 9 a.m. Friday.

The southbound closure from Colorado Highway 60 and Colorado Highway 56 will be in place through late 2027.

CDOT said the closure will allow crews to perform work during the I-25 North Express Lanes, Mead to Berthoud project.

CDOT said the work over the next three years includes concrete paving in both directions of I-25, reconstructing the I-25 interchange at Weld County Road 34, as well as five other bridges, and adding one 12-foot Express Lane in each direction from CO 66 to CO 56.

CDOT said the closure of the southbound I-25 lanes will increase safety for work crews and the traveling public and will allow work to proceed faster and more efficiently.

To implement this Express Lane closure, the southbound I-25 on-ramp at CO 56 (Berthoud) will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22 for a traffic switch. Crews will stripe lanes, move barriers and switch traffic onto new lanes.

Traffic on CO 56 intending to travel south will turn north to Colorado Highway 60/Weld County Road 48 (exit 252), turn around and enter southbound I-25, according to CDOT.

Following this traffic switch, southbound I-25 traffic will be shifted to the northbound I-25 lanes into a head-to-head configuration between CO 56 and CO 66 starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24. This configuration will be in place through late 2025.

The new I-25 configuration will require a traffic switch and overnight closures of the southbound I-25 on- and off-ramps at WCR 34 near Mead from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 24,  Crews will stripe lanes, move barriers and switch traffic into the new ongoing alignment. Motorists should plan for delays, CDOT said.

The I-25 North Express Lanes Project from Mead to Berthoud is a continuation of the approximately 20 miles of improvements that have been completed on I-25 between Berthoud to Fort Collins over the past six years.

CDOT said the six-mile project will expand and enhance I-25, from Colorado Highway 66 in Mead and connect to the newly built portion of I-25 just south of CO 56 in Berthoud.

Once complete in 2028, this project will complete a missing piece on I-25 and will be the first time there will be more than two lanes of I-25 from Denver to Fort Collins in both directions, CDOT said.