El Paso County officials to celebrate early end of Meridian Road project in Falcon area Thursday

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - It started in March and wasn't scheduled for completion until early next year, but officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday to mark the end of a $10 million safety and improvement project on a mile-long stretch of Meridian Road.

The ceremony is at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Meridian and Rex roads, a key intersection in the Falcon area.

"We would avoid that intersection," said neighbor Eric Kyle. "We would try to go through residential (areas) to avoid that intersection at certain times when there was a lot of traffic. You couldn't really go through there -- and if you did, it was kind of dangerous."

Neighbors said that a lack of lighting and traffic signals contributed to a history of crashes there.

The project widened Meridian between Indian Paint Trail and Antlers Ridge Drive to four lanes, including at the Rex intersection -- adding street lights, traffic signals, turn lanes and lane markings.

Other goals included softening surrounding hills to improve sight lines for drivers, building new sidewalks, improving drainage, and relocating utility lines.

"It's a process," said neighbor Kari Rogan. "It's not fun, ever. But it gets worse before it's better, with any kind of project. So, I'm thumbs up. I really appreciate having an extra light. I think it's better than having more accidents."

The area around Meridian Road continues to grow and is surrounded by recent and new home construction; county road impact fees -- paid by property owners to specifically address projects related to increased traffic -- financed the project.