Hundreds show up to Marksheffel Road expansion town hall Saturday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Mayor John Suthers said Saturday that the expansion project adding additional lanes to the north end of Marksheffel Road won't begin until 2025 at the earliest -- much to the dismay of hundreds of residents in the growing Banning Lewis Ranch subdivision.
With the growth of Colorado Springs over the last few years, Marksheffel Road has become much busier. This project aims to alleviate congestion and increase safety on the highly-traveled road on the city's eastern border.
The nearly three-year delay is due to the city needing to secure funding for the project.
Suthers said that the project will cost $60 million in its entirety, and funding for the infrastructure project will come from PPRTA-3 dollars, if approved by the voters in November.
Voters approved the penny sales tax in 2004 to fund local transportation projects; it affects residents of Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Ramah and Calhan.
"We are not asking for an increase, we are simply asking to extend it another ten years," Suthers said. "That's been our main funding source through the years for large infrastructure projects. "We've delivered on every project that's been promised by the PPRTA."
The city is asking other members of PPTRA-3 to make the Marksheffel expansion the most important priority so that construction can begin as soon as possible in 2025.
The PPRTA tax will generate around $150 million this year but only 55% can be used for capital projects such as the Marksheffel widening; the rest must be allocated to maintenance of existing infrastructure and the Mountain Metro Trasit bus service.
Suthers said that officials are applying for federal money as well, to try and alleviate the burden on PPTRA-3 money, but thus far they have not secured the money. If they are able to secure outside funding, it could push the timeline up.
"That would accelerate it, if we could get federal or state money. We are always on the lookout for that," Suthers said.
It was standing-room-only at the Banning Lewis Ranch pavilion Saturday morning, as more than 200 residents attended a 90-minute town hall with questions on their mind, asking about how the project will be funded and how safety will be ensured throughout the process.
"Many of us are more informed now. Many of us have maybe more questions, but I think it will lead to further dialogue and I'm optimistic about that with our city leaders," resident Jason Bandel said.
Suthers told KRDO that Marksheffel Road will transition from both Colorado Springs and El Paso County being responsible for individual stretches of it, to being entirely maintained by Colorado Springs.
"We are getting all of the land conveyed by the county, and we've got $5million to $6 million to do some of the work to make the intersections more safe, but the bulk of it -- the $60 million, we don't have right now," Suthers said.
Once the funding is secured and the expansion project begins, the Marksheffel road expansion is expected to take 18 months to 2 years to be completed.
Future improvements include extending Marksheffel north to Black Forest Road, in a fast-growing area near the extension of Briargate Parkway.
Meanwhile, Tim Seibert of Norwood Development said that work should begin soon on the long-awaited Banning Lewis Parkway, a major road through that subdivision that's expected to alleviate traffic congestion on Marksheffel.
