Next round of road projects to begin next year in El Paso County
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- With most local funding commitments to the Interstate 25 "Gap" widening project between Monument and Castle Rock winding down, area leaders are looking ahead to the next round of major road improvements in 2021.
El Paso County's 2021 budget approved Tuesday includes an allocation $3 million for the "Gap," completing the county's $15 million contribution.
Generally, however, the area's overall transportation problem remains: Too many needs and not nearly enough money to address them.
"Right now, Powers Boulevard needs about a billion dollars in infrastructure upgrades to meet the needs of our citizens in the next 20 years," said Mark Waller, president of the county's Board of Commissioners.
Fellow Commissioner Holly Williams said the area's infrastructure needs can seem overwhelming.
"We're expected to be about a million people by 2050," she said. "That's a lot of people and we're still behind on roads, as it is. The state also doesn't invest as much in roads as it used to."
Another challenge is that numerous road and traffic studies have been done -- going as far back as 1997 -- but the area's tremendous growth means that priorities can change in just a few years, before a project can be funded, started or completed.
The $350 million "Gap" project didn't begin until Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers challenged state politicians to expand the 18-mile stretch of freeway during his 2016 State of the City address.
From there, affected local governments and state officials came up with enough of their own money to receive a $65 million federal grant to help fund the project. Construction started in 2019 and is scheduled for completion in 2022.
"It may take more cooperation and partnerships like that one to get more priority projects done," Waller said. "Before we took the lead, CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) told us the project wasn't on their radar for at least 10 years. We couldn't wait for that."
Or it may take something similar to what's happening at a project to build the first phase of connecting the north end of Powers to I-25. A developer is picking up the $65 million cost.
Among the projects underway in 2021 is construction of an overpass at the busy intersection of Powers and Research Parkway. Increased traffic, largely created by home construction in the nearby Wolf Ranch subdivision, make the overpass one of CDOT's biggest priorities.
"It was supposed to start this year until the pandemic hit," Williams said.
The overpass is key because it's the only major intersection on Powers between Highway 83 and Woodmen Road that doesn't have an overpass.
"An overpass at every major intersection on Powers was the original plan for that boulevard," she said. "To do that now would cost around $520 million in today's dollars. So you can see how quickly the cost adds up."
Also gearing up in 2021 is a $160 million, four-phased project to improve transportation access and safety around Fort Carson, Peterson and Schriever Air Force bases and the Cheyenne Mountain Station.
The project, scheduled for completion in 2022, is financed by CDOT, two local entities and an $18 million federal grant.
Local leaders also are paying attention to rapid growth and home construction in the northeastern corner of Colorado Springs, near the Banning Lewis Ranch subdivision, two proposed annexations that would add thousands of additional homes and the possibility of another population boost if U.S. Space Command remains here permanently.
Officials agree that the need exists to widen the northern half of Marksheffel Road, but such a project would cost an estimated $50 million and funding isn't available yet.
"The other problem with that stretch of Marksheffel is part of it is in the city and part of it is in the county," Waller said. "And the boundaries aren't in large sections. They're all piecemeal. We've got to get together and agree on how to resolve that."
Williams said the city will start a project in 2021 to widen the south end of Black Forest Road between Woodmen and Briargate Parkway.
"Many people don't realize, even though that's along Black Forest Road, it's in the city limits," she said. "With all of the homes being built there, traffic is an issue. We need to widen that soon because Research already connects to it, and someday Briargate also may."
