Thornton City Council sent a clear message to Colorado Department of Transportation last week that it does not support a proposal to increase the traffic clearance on the 88th Avenue overpass by scraping down pavement on Interstate 25.

“If that’s the only option, it’s not the best option because it’s really a short-term solution,” said Assistant City Manager Margaret Hunt. “The 88th Avenue bridge has to be replaced anyway to accommodate the ultimate widening of I-25, which is the only place on I-25 between Highway 7 and way up north that needs to be widened.”

Council unanimously approved a resolution during its Feb. 12 meeting that voiced opposition to the CDOT-backed proposal and called on the state department to consider an alternative city-backed solution that would not affect the planned I-25 North Managed Lanes Project scheduled to kick off late this year.

The $2 million CDOT proposal first introduced last October calls for a gradual scale down of the I-25 concrete roadway leading up to the overpass and a gradual scale increase after vehicles pass the bridge.

Gene Putman, the city’s transportation and emergency management manager, said the fix was posited to address two accidents over the past six months in which high-clearance tractor trailers struck and damaged the overpass in the freeway’s southbound and northbound lanes.

In all, he said the overpass has been stuck eight times in its 42-year life span.

He said it would cost about $300,000 in insurance proceeds alone to fix the damage on each side of the bridge and about two or three weeks to fully implement CDOT’s concrete shaving proposal. During that time, Putman said traffic control measures would significantly impact motorists on the already congested freeway.

“Just think about it — having to go down to probably two lanes just to get around the construction of the lowering is going to be a mess,” Putman said. “As somebody who has worked years in traffic control, this is a nightmare for me.”

To solve this problem, the resolution backed a plan crafted by Putman to close down 88th and remove the northbound side of the overpass. Putman said CDOT could then phase in repairs through the department’s newly-created Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships (RAMP) program.

Putman said the $400,000 removal project could be completed in two without hindering traffic.

Ward 4 City Councilman Randy Drennen said he supports Putman’s plan but was concerned CDOT may stick the city with most of the repair costs.

“I think you’re taking a bit of a gamble here, because I think it’s very possible that CDOT could like the idea of demolishing half of the bridge to save the money and avoid the height reduction hassle and say, ‘Thank you very much,’” Drennen said. ‘There’s no guarantee that we will get a five-lane bridge in a much shorter amount of time, if we do a demolition project.”