UPDATE: Widening I-25, a stretch of road that hasn’t seen major updates since the 60’s

The Colorado Department of Transportation is considering new travel lanes on Interstate 25 to improve safety and reduce crashes. It comes on a stretch of road that hasn’t seen major updates since the early 60’s.

In a public meeting last night CDOT officials told community members that the $350 million project would widen the 18-mile-stretch between Monument and Castle Rock by adding an 11-foot-wide express lane, in each direction, of the interstate. CDOT is considering making those extra lanes part time toll lanes with fluctuating tolls depending on the amount of traffic at peak hours.
Pricing for the potential Gap Project could be between $1 and $3 dollars. For traveler John Baldassari the tolls should be available to anyone who needs to use them. “I think it will make traffic flow smoother and it’s an option that if the tolls are there people can choose to use them and they can choose not to use them.”

“We are on a fast track to get this project done. Uh, we will be ready to go on construction by the end of next year. We will be able to start building as long as the funding is there,” says CDOT spokesperson Tamara Rollinson.

El Paso County is funding $25 million of the $350 million project expense.