A portion of I-25 in Pueblo could receive repairs

It’s a part of I-25 in Pueblo that drivers and a county commissioner say needs to be improved because it is dangerous.

The Pueblo Area Council of Governments are set to vote on Thursday whether to spend more than $8 million in repairing I-25 from 1st Street to Ilex Street.

The money would also go toward rehabilitating bridges on Indiana Avenue, Northern Avenue, Mesa Avenue, I-25 over Santa Fe Drive and Santa Fe Drive over the Arkansas River.

The money is split between the federal, state and local governments.

County Commissioner Sal Pace said this oldest stretch of interstate highway in Colorado, but it’s also one of the most dangerous.

“If you look at some of the bridges just underneath it is crumbling, if you go on the entrance and exit ramps it’s unsafe and it has some of the highest traffic accidents in all of the state,” he said.

Paul Casados drives of this part of I-25 almost every day. He said during rush hour it can be a challenge to get on the freeway.

“Well you have a lot of traffic coming through. It’s pretty dangerous coming in because obviously you have the right hand side that people drive slowly on and coming on it’s difficult to get back on both entrances to that interstate,” he said.

The vote is set to happen at 12:15 p.m. Thursday at the Pueblo County Office of Emergency Management on West 10th Street.

If this does pass, Pace expects work to be done by early 2016.