CDOT shows, explains erosion repair work that backed up traffic on northbound Interstate 25 near Colorado Springs

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- For drivers stuck in traffic congestion between Monday evening and Tuesday evening because of a repair project, and for those who may have been frustrated or unaware of the reason behind it, more details became available Wednesday.

The Colorado Department of Transportation escorted KRDO NewsChannel 13 to the repair site to show the work that was done and to explain how erosion from recent heavy rain undermined an 800-foot section of Interstate 25 between Colorado Springs and Fountain, along the right northbound lane beside concrete dividers.

The erosion damage developed within an eight-mile project to replace crumbling asphalt pavement with a new concrete surface on I-25 between Colorado Springs and Fountain, which is part of the overall $161 million Military Access, Mobility & Safety Improvement Project (MAMSIP) to upgrade transportation around area military installations.

CDOT officials said that noticed the erosion damage late Monday afternoon, after some areas between south Colorado Springs and Fountain received as much as six inches of rain from a severe storm earlier Monday.

Although construction areas are more vulnerable to erosion during periods of heavy rain, CDOT said that the damaged area was at the highest elevation point where the current temporary northbound traffic configuration is above the existing, closed lanes that will be rebuilt with concrete.

CDOT said that it had at least 25 workers from the project's contractor, SEMA Construction, repairing the damage between 6 p.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Tuesday; crews removed the concrete dividers, installed a temporary guardrail and shored up the area that drops off onto the old lanes below.

There are no similar issues on other CDOT highways or construction areas, officials said.

"We normally don't have issues like this unless we get the amount of heavy rain that we've had in a short time period," said Randy Johnson, MAMSIP's project manager. "The rain has also put us a week behind in starting to apply concrete to the northbound lanes. We may not be able to start for another week or two, or at least until the rain stops and conditions dry out a bit."

Johnson said that the concrete work should be finished this fall, adding that the overall MAMSIP project is ahead of schedule to be completed by the end of next year.