Heavy traffic this summer near Pikes Peak has leaders concerned

With summer fast approaching, thousands from all over the country will travel to see America’s Mountain, but local leaders are worried about the potential for dangerous traffic jams.

Those concerns stemming from multiple construction projects happening on Pikes Peak Highway combined with the closure of the COG Railway. About 2,000 cars a day travel to Pikes Peak during the busy season. Officials from El Paso County, Colorado Springs, State Patrol and CDOT presented their ideas Tuesday night to the public on how to fix the problem.

El Paso County Commissioner Stan Vanderwerf says there are two main concerns with the anticipated traffic; residents who live in Cascade having to deal with the stressful high volume of traffic every day and back-ups that could lead to deadly crashes. Vanderwerf says, “When there is a lot of congestion on those roads you are just inevitably going to get more of those accidents.”

Some solutions discussed at the meeting were expanding the intersection of Highway 24 and Fountain, adding lanes and signs and improving traffic light timing to make things move quicker. Those attending the meeting say they liked what officials had to say, but they’re worried it will cost too much and it won’t fix everything in the long run.

For now, there’s no timeframe on when these will go into effect, but officials and residents are hoping it’s sooner rather than later.”