UPDATE: Paving begins on North Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, crews continued the actual repaving of a mile-long stretch of North Academy Boulevard, from Voyager Parkway near Interstate 25, to just north of Woodmen Road.

Milling -- the removal of old asphalt -- began last Sunday night and city officials said that repaving should be finished by the middle of next week.

A city release issued previously said that paving was to start Sunday night; a spokesman said that he didn't know why it hadn't begun yet.

Work is happening during the overnight hours to minimize traffic impacts; at least one of the three lanes in each direction will be closed during the project.

Driving along that part of North Academy is dusty after the milling but a fresh coat of asphalt -- or even a little rain that fell Tuesday-- should take care of it.

Improvements are much-needed in a heavily-traveled area that has strip malls and businesses on either side, as well as traffic from Interstate 25 and The Air Force Academy, as well as from busy streets such as Voyager Parkway and Woodmen Road.

The North Academy paving project is funded by the city's 2C expanded street paving program, supported by a voter-approved sales tax increase in 2016 and later extended for a second five-year period.

In November, city leaders will ask voters to extend the tax for a ten year period.