CDOT begins two-year project on I-25 between Fillmore Street & Garden of the Gods Road

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will use the late fall and early winter months to prepare for a project to improve safety and traffic flow along a key corridor.

The project will have three objectives: First, to do some temporary paving along a rough stretch of Interstate 25 between Fillmore Street and Garden of the Gods Road, to stabilize the road before construction gears up; then, to replace the I-25 bridge over Ellston Street; and to extend acceleration/deceleration lanes between the two interchanges.

CDOT said that the project will improve traffic flow and safety by reducing congestion as vehicles try to merge in and out of lanes when entering or exiting the freeway.

Drivers won't immediately notice changes on I-25, CDOT said; the first significant changes will happen on Ellston Street, with upcoming closures and detours for a trail commonly used by pedestrians and bicyclists.

CDOT's intention is to build the new bridge in three phases while also rebuilding the lanes above them, thereby allowing traffic to continue through the work zone during construction.

"It's not like you're going to see a massive start of construction," said John Hall, project manager. "We'll be getting set up, doing erosion-control features. Right now, just preparation work, relocating some utility lines, etc. Everything else will happen gradually."

KRDO spoke with several drivers to hear their opinions.

"I think as a driver, it's going to affect me a little bit more than as a trail user," said Derrick Morales. "I love using the trail, but if it's going to help me get home easier at the end of the day, I think that might be better."

Nelson Archuleta lives in a neighborhood on the west side of the project and said that he's concerned about how it will affect trail users.

"But extending the merging on-lane is very much needed in both directions," he said. "So, I think it's going to be a good thing. I do worry about how traffic here on Chestnut Street will be affected. We already have too much speeding there."

Archuleta's neighborhood had to adjust to another bridge replacement project when the city built the new Chestnut Street bridge over South Douglas Creek; that project started in April 2015 and was completed in November 2016.

The $68 million I-25 project is expected to be finished by the end of 2025.