Drivers challenged by quartet of road projects in western El Paso County
Summer road construction projects are a challenge for drivers to navigate, but even more so this season as four projects start or continue in western El Paso County.
On Monday, workers began removing loose rocks and boulders from above U.S. 24 in Ute Pass, just west of Manitou Springs. The project requires the closure of a 3-mile stretch of westbound traffic, and detouring drivers to one of the eastbound lanes.
Work continues on improving the left turn lane on eastbound U.S. 24 at 31st Street, and upgrading the intersection of Colorado Avenue and Ridge Road.
Another project, now in its second year, is the Westside Avenue Action Plan, which provides a facelift for the unincorporated area known as No Man’s Land. That project is scheduled for completion next year.
Those areas, frequented by summer tourists, will be major construction zones at least through fall.
“We know it’s inconvenient for drivers and businesses,” said Dave Watt, an engineer with the Colorado Department of Transportation, during a media briefing Monday morning. “But business owners told us they’d rather that we be efficient and do as much of the work at the same time as possible, to finish the projects sooner.”
Watt said workers will try to keep access to businesses open, and do most of the work at night or between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., to minimize the impacts.
“We also won’t do any work on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays,” he said.
Neal Cully, owner of the Townhouse Sports Grill in Manitou Springs, sent an email to KRDO NewsChannel 13 after he said it took him nearly an hour to get through traffic between his business and his home in Mountain Shadows.
“I just think that the projects could be staggered better, so that we’ve got one in late spring, one starting in the summer and one starting in late August when the tourists have started to go home,” Cully said. “It won’t jam up the West Side so badly.”
Drivers have mixed feelings about the projects.
“It does get a little confusing sometimes,” said Sara Santa Cruz. “You don’t really know where to go or which route to take, and the detours aren’t always really well mapped out.”
“It’s going to be nice,” said Emily Moore. “Right now, people don’t understand. It’s going to be convenient later, but right now people can’t see that. But I think for me, it’s OK.”
To avoid doing too many projects at he same time, officials have delayed two Ute Pass projects until late summer or early fall — the installation of a fiber optics cable and the repair of a flood-damaged retaining wall.
