Updating progress on El Paso County’s section of South Academy Boulevard improvements

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Project manager Brett Hartzell said that the $71 million project to widen the south end of South Academy Boulevard remains on schedule despite unexpected repairs to the bridge over Fountain Creek.

Those repairs -- which resulted in lane closures and restrictions after the need was identified around Thanksgiving -- were finally completed last week.

Hartzell said that the project's main focus is now to continue widening the 1.5-mile corridor from two to three lanes in each direction, between Interstate 25 and Milton E. Proby Parkway; the bridge over Bradley road will be widened to accommodate the boulevard widening, and the road itself will receive some improvements.

"You'll see crews right now in the middle, doing work on the sub-grade and the base, installing concrete barriers," he explained. "That's phase one. Phase two, once we get all that work complete, is to shift lanes to the inside, to give us room to work on the outside. At that point, traffic will begin to use new lanes created."

The project began last fall and scheduled to be finished in early 2026 -- around the same time Colorado Springs completes its section of South Academy upgrades from Jet Wing Drive to Bijou Street.