Updating status of three road projects in El Paso County

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Drivers south of Calhan on the east side of the county should prepare for traffic delays Tuesday as a bridge replacement project gears up.

Workers will spend the day pouring cement for a concrete deck on the new bridge across Big Sandy Creek; the bridge site is on Calhan Highway between Funk Road and Paint Mine Road.

The $3.4 million project began late last summer and is scheduled for completion this summer; it replaces the original bridge that was built in 1975.

A detour lane is in place on the west side of the construction zone; officials told drivers to expect expect delays of up to 15 minutes as flaggers allow vehicles to pass through in one direction, then the other -- but there appeared to be no delays on the sparsely-traveled rural road.

Officials ask that drivers slow down and be alert to members of the construction crew.

"The main thing we had to focus on here, was constructing a bypass (two-pane road beside the work zone) because if we did a full detour, it would take drivers out quite a ways.," said project manager Brett Hartzell. "We wanted to make sure we could do an on-site bypass, which is why we've got it set up so drivers can go around the construction."

Meanwhile, county officials also updated the status of two road projects that generated citizen concern to KRDO's The Road Warrior.

Official said that they will make repairs to a 2.5-mile stretch of Meridian Road, between Woodmen Road and Stapleton Drive, in the Falcon area; neighbors explained that the affected section of Meridian received a much-needed repaving in 2022 but problems developed afterward.

"Crews dug up areas of new asphalt that had covered cracks in the road," said Jan Whitlock, who wrote to The Road Warrior. "The crew filled those cracks but that created a speed bump-type pf surfacethat got broken apart by snowplows and left the road deteriorating again."

The county said that some repairs were made last year, and crews will fix the road later this year; the exact schedule hasn't been determined.

Viewers also contacted The Road Warrior about a section of Peyton Highway, between Falcon Highway and Highway 94.

"We've complained about it for the past 15 years," said Darlene Crary, a neighbor. "The county fills the same potholes over and over again but they keep reopening and people have to drive in the center of the road to dodge them. The road in terrible shape."

Unfortunately, residents in that area will have to wait a while longer for relief; the county said that the road isn't on this year's paving list because of limited funding and other projects having higher priorities.

The county said that that Peyton Highway cold become a higher priority, however, after it undergoes an engineering review.