Highway 287 Flood Mitigation Project

History

The Big Thompson River has sustained 13 damaging floods – the most recent occurring in September 2013 resulting in significant damage to public infrastructure and private properties in the Loveland area. Of particular concern was the area of the Big Thompson near U.S. Highway 287 (Lincoln Avenue) where there is the vital north-south highway connection to the City of Loveland, the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad tracks, two large community parks, the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority’s training facility and a dense cluster of buildings and businesses.

Excluding the cost for emergency response, the 2013 flood caused $9.9 million in damage to public infrastructure in this area. That’s over $18 million in today’s dollars. The Highway 287 bridge nearly failed from scour undermining the piers and north abutment, and the highway was closed for more than two weeks as the river overtopped the roadway. Many businesses were closed for months due to significant flood damage.

The need for more resiliency in this area following the 2013 flood led to the creation of the Big Thompson River Corridor Master Plan which was adopted by City Council in June 2019. This plan identifies numerous projects and river maintenance activities to implement along the nine-mile stretch of the river through the Loveland area. The Highway 287 Flood Mitigation project is one of the highest-priority capital projects identified.

Project Description

The Highway 287 Flood Mitigation project is a joint effort between the City of Loveland, the Colorado Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to design flood mitigation measures for the Big Thompson River at Highway 287. This project will focus on the Highway 287 bridge, but the entire project area extends from Railroad Avenue on the west to about Saint Louis Avenue on the east. Along Highway 287, the project area extends about 1,000 feet to the north and south of the river.

The project has three main components: bridge replacement and retrofitting, stream restoration and floodplain improvement. A primary goal is to increase community resiliency by removing as many properties as feasible from the 100-year floodplain and reducing flood risk to those structures that remain in the floodplain.

Project Scope

This project includes designing a new Highway 287 bridge structure over the Big Thompson River that’s about four feet higher and includes four through lanes, a center turn lane, bike lanes and a sidewalk. Other project elements include:

• Addressing access points throughout the project corridor to accommodate raising the bridge and highway about four feet to help prevent the river from overtopping the roadway.

• Creating a natural open space corridor by connecting the existing public natural areas and parks just upstream and downstream of the bridge.

• Reducing flood risk by increasing floodplain capacity adjacent to the river channel and using nature-based solutions (things such as planted vegetation or boulders)

• Improving opportunities for public interaction with the river through better access.

• Restoring natural areas and improving river health as best as possible.

• Creating a signature southern entrance into Loveland.

Project Funding

The project design will cost an estimated $2.6 million with about 90% of the costs being covered by a FEMA grant and 10% from the increased stormwater fee residents started paying on their utility bills in September 2022. An estimate of construction costs will be developed when design work is complete.

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