Here’s why new traffic signals at a Security-Widefield intersection aren’t working more than a year after installation

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- It's a question viewers have often asked during the nine months of KRDO 13's The Road Warrior coverage: Why haven't new traffic signals at a busy intersection been turned on since being installed in August 2023?

The new signals are covered with dark plastic bags and "Out of Service" covers at the intersection of Fontaine Boulevard, Security Boulevard and Widefield Boulevards -- a block east of Highway 85/87 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway signal crossing.

"One day when I was walking out, the (old) lights weren't working," said neighbor Lestat Avila. "They had to treat it as a four-way stop. The county and the (deputies) came out here and did traffic control, but it was so chaotic. They just need to get rid of these lights because they're already starting to go out."

Another neighbor, Weston Krueger, expressed a similar concern.

"It's also hard for people at night," he explained. "With the two light (mast arms) there (at each intersection), the new lights are blocking the other lights at night. So, it's hard to tell. And there's also issues with the crosswalk lights. I try to push them to cross, and they don't come on." 

A county spokesman said that issues developed after the new signals were installed; they wouldn't connect with the BNSF crossing signals.

The spokesman added that the county and the railway are working together to solve the problem and have found that they need more equipment -- and time -- to resolve the issue.

"Changes to existing crossings necessitate additional engineering studies and state permitting that have extended the overall project timeline," the spokesman said in a statement to KRDO 13.

After first saying that the new signals would be working by the end of summer, the spokesman now believes they'll be operational by the end of the year.