Temporary road closures, detours in place on Kalamath Street in Denver this week

RTD has started maintenance work at a light rail crossing in Denver on Kalamath Street, forcing a six-day closure and some detours.

According to RTD, crews will be "stabilizing the rail base and making repairs to the asphalt along the alignment."

Through Saturday, drivers heading south on Champa Street to get to West Colfax Avenue will be detoured to Speer Boulevard. Temporary signs will be in place, as well as traffic control officers, to let drivers know about the detours.

The work is expected to be finished before RTD's service changes which begin on Sunday. That's when light rail service will resume in the downtown loop, and the D and H line trains will no longer detour to Denver Union Station.

This all comes after RTD completed its Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project earlier this month, which replaced 30-year-old tracks across five intersections in downtown Denver.

"Trying to complete five intersections with a full-depth reconstruction, the first time in RTD's history, gave some people pause, wondering if we'd be able to pull this off by our September service change," said Stuart Summers, RTD's Chief Communications and Engagement Officer. "So it's exciting to stand here today, knowing we completed it three weeks ahead of schedule."

RTD will also be testing the L line to make sure it is working safely after improvements are made. The tests will be running from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

During the testing, the light rails will also be operating in both directions along Welton Street. Drivers can expect single-lane closures in both directions on Park Avenue.