The second phase of improvements to Weld County Road (77) is complete. The road, located north of Briggsdale from WCR 100 to WCR 120, reopened Monday, 11 days ahead of its anticipated reopening date of Oct. 18.
Those improvements to WCR 77 centered mainly between WCR 100 and WCR 106 and were focused largely on improving the road structure and the installation and creation of a new driving surface. Crews removed the existing asphalt and replaced it through full-depth reclamation (FDR), a process that reuses a portion of the road’s existing asphalt. FDR has been successfully used to rebuild several county roads, including a portion of WCR 77 between Highway 14 and WCR 100, which was completed last year.
“We know that this road is heavily used by residents in northern Weld County, and the goal of our work was to improve the road so it could continue to meet demand safely,” said Curtis Hall, Director of the Weld County Department of Public Works. “We believe these improvements will accomplish that goal, and the fact we were able to beat our deadline speaks to the work ethic of our team and our commitment to deliver the best improvements as quickly as possible.”
Other improvements included replacing seven culverts and lowering a hill on WCR 77 to correct a sight-distance issue. Bridge 77/106A, located north of WCR 106, was also reconstructed to include a new bridge deck, guardrails and driving surface. Reconstructing the bridge under this closure will make future repairs to WCR 77 easier and more efficient.
While most of the money for this phase —$1.7 million — came from Public Works’ budget, in November of 2023, the county accepted a $200,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to go toward construction.
