Progress continues in the highly anticipated renovations of the Parker and Arapahoe Road interchange — one of the most congested intersections in the metro area.

For the next few weeks, crews will construct the bridge pier columns and retaining walls at the interchange. Crews will also place “fill” for the new portion of Parker Road and will continue drainage work.

Some lanes on both roads will occasionally be closed during the project.

The to-be-announced closures will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. Occasional weekend work is also possible, but major traffic impacts are not expected on weekends during the holiday season.

Additionally, full closures of Parker and Arapahoe will be required for bridge-girder installation, bridge-deck installation and concrete work. The full closures will only take place overnight.

This is a tentative schedule of the remaining major project milestones:

May 2011- Northbound Parker Road traffic will permitted on the new Parker Road structure.

July 2011- Northbound and southbound Parker Road traffic will placed on the new structure with two lanes open in each direction.

August 2011 - Parker Road will be placed in its final configuration and will open to three lanes in each direction

November 2011 - Construction is scheduled to be completed.

Currently, the intersection carries 110,000 vehicles a day and projections show that traffic volumes will increase to 170,000 by 2030. Officials say the grade-separated interchange will better accommodate the higher volumes while improving safety and mobility.

The intersection will eventually become a full interchange with ramps and limited traffic signals. Free-flowing traffic on Parker Road will benefit Arapahoe Road by eliminating the red-light signal time on Arapahoe Road, a particular problem for east-bounders during rush hour.

The interchange as a whole will be designed to better handle traffic during peak travels times. The triple lane ramp from southbound Parker to westbound Arapahoe will remain in place and a two-lane ramp from eastbound Arapahoe to northbound Parker will be constructed in the southeast corner.

More information will be released as work progresses. For weekly lane-closure information, visit coloradodot.info/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html and click on “Denver.”

For additional information, call the project hotline at 303-944-1824 or e-mail mindy.crane@dot.state.co.us. The project website is coloradodot.info/projects/parkerarapahoe.