Crumbling infrastructure slows, frustrates drivers

Many Colorado Springs-area drivers wonder if, and when, a series of street and road hazards will end.

Drivers have complained about potholes all year, and the road construction season has begun. Now, water main breaks on two busy streets have added to traffic congestion, especially during morning and evening rush hours.

“I feel like this is definitely the worst it’s (ever) been,” Brandon Chavez, a local driver, said Thursday. “But we’re getting a lot of rain, so it’s understandable.”

Candice Lankford, another local driver, reflected on facing a longer commute to and from work.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said. “It normally takes me seven minutes to get home. So far, I’ve been on the streets for 15 minutes, and I’m another 15 minutes to home.”

Lankford said she can’t understand why the area’s infrastructure is crumbling so much.

“I just came back from vacation,” she said. “I went to three other states, and they don’t have these problems.”

Patrice Lehermeyer, of Colorado Springs Utilities, said a recent study shows that half of the utility’s infrastructure could fail within the next 10 years.

“It’s because our system is so old,” she said. “Fifty years or older. We need to replace a lot of it, but the question is always how do you pay for it?”

However, at least one driver is optimistic that better days are ahead.

“I’m just glad they’re doing something with our roads,” Tanya Tapper said. “Water line breaks have to be fixed.”