Months of construction to shut down Colorado Springs intersection

Pikes Peak Avenue and Union Boulevard is one of the busiest intersections in Colorado Springs, but it’ll soon be shut down for several months.

City engineers say about 40,000 cars drive through it a day. That’s why for Marteze Whiteside, seeing the bright orange cones and signs is a pain.

“It kind of makes driving through there pretty difficult,” he said.

Now, drivers like Rudy Lucero, who drive through every day, are figuring out what detour they’ll take.

“I’ll probably come through Circle and turn on Pikes Peak,” he said.

The project will cost about $17 million and the closure is expected to add about 10 minutes to drivers’ commutes.

Stephanie Rodriguez drives through Pikes Peak and Union every week when she brings her niece, Nicole, to Memorial Park.

But unfortunately with construction, she’s not sure if it’ll be possible to bring her anymore.

“That’s the only way I get through downtown, the only way that’s easier for me,” she said. “I don’t know any other street.”

The construction on Pikes Peak Avenue is part of a two-year project and will come to an end in the Summer of 2019.

Businesses in the area and the park will remain open during construction.

Traffic approaching the intersection will be controlled by flaggers. For convenience, we’ve added a list of detour routes.

-Northbound Union traffic will be diverted along Fountain Boulevard east to Circle Drive

-Westbound Pikes Peak traffic will be diverted along Circle Drive north to Platte Avenue

-Southbound Union traffic will be diverted along Platte Avenue west to Hancock Avenue

-Eastbound Pikes Peak traffic will be diverted along Hancock Avenue south to Fountain Boulevard