Contractor chosen for Woodmen Road widening project

Castle Rock-based Edward Kraemer and Sons has been chosen as the contractor for the large Woodmen Road widening project.

The city announced today that Kraemer was chosen because it had the best technical proposal and because its bid came in less than the $42.7 million the city had estimated the project would cost.

“They offer an aggressive schedule and real recognition of the obligations to neighbors, businesses and commuters during and after construction,” added Dan Krueger, city engineering project manager.

The project, expected to last at least two years, will widen Woodmen to three lanes in each direction from just east of Interstate 25 to just past Academy Boulevard. The project also will include an interchange at Woodmen and Academy, which engineers acknowledge will have to be staged carefully to keep traffic moving and to provide access to nearby businesses during construction.

The final cost of the contract and details on the schedule will be released after negotiations are concluded and agreed to by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority,  the Federal Highway Administration and the Colorado Department of Transportation.  Construction is expected to begin in mid September.

The project is being funded with $35 million in federal stimulus money, with the remainder coming from a one percent sales tax collected by the RTA.

Kraemer and Sons was founded in 1911 by Edward Kraemer in Plain, Wis. The firm, which specializes in heavy highway, heavy civil, and marine construction, is still headquartered in Plain but maintains a Colorado office in Castle Rock.