New Overpasses Coming To North Powers Boulevard

Drivers and nearby businesses will hardly notice an overpass project on north Powers Boulevard in Colorado Springs this summer, officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation said on Monday.

CDOT said the structures will cross over Briargate Parkway and Union Boulevard, and that the project will improve traffic flow and safety in an area where serious crashes are common.

Work on the $12.5 million project is scheduled to begin April 30 and completed by the end of August. The project will cover a 2 1/2-mile stretch of Powers.

CDOT engineer Mark Andrew said most of the work will be done at night and along normal traffic so that the impact should be minimal. He said traffic in the area may slow down or stop occasionally as workers move in and out of the construction zone.

North Powers originally was designed to be built as an expressway between Woodmen Road and Highway 83, but a lack of funding delayed necessary construction projects. Andrew said only one future project, at the Old Ranch Road intersection, keeps Powers from being the expressway it was intended to be.

CDOT held an open house Monday night to explain the project and answer questions for the public. Ross Clinger, a nearby ranch owner, said he supports the project as long as it’s done properly.

“The Powers bridge south of here at Cottonwood Creek wasn’t done right,” he said. “The wire for the fences is still in a pile, and there’s nothing to keep the livestock in. If my livestock gets out, who gets a ticket? I do.”

CDOT said the project won’t add to existing traffic congestion on south Powers.