Work resumes on Highway 115 project south of Colorado Springs after delays for winter, concrete removal

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- During the first three months of KRDO's 13 coverage by The Road Warrior, several viewers asked why there seemed to be little progress on the Highway 115 safety improvement project, covering 12 miles from the top of the hill above Fort Carson to the Fremont County line.

The project started nearly two years ago, "But we never see anyone working," an emailer wrote.

When The Road Warrior drove through the work zone in February, it did indeed appear quiet with no workers on-site, and much of the area covered in snow.

As it turns out, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) said that winter weather is the primary reason why progress stalled.

"We had a winter shutdown," said Wayne Pittman, the project manager. "(It was) from late November to the end of March. It was nothing unusual. That time of year, it's too cold and wet to put down concrete and asphalt. Now that warmer spring weather is here, construction has resumed."

Pittman said that CDOT alerted the public to the delay on its project website and on news releases and email notifications.

"We apologize if we didn't get the word out as well as folks thought we should have," he said.

Viewers also asked why a large section of concrete was removed from the construction area; Pittman explained that unexpected development delayed the project for an additional week or two.

"The first season, there was a survey bust and (workers) had forgotten," he said. "The contractor had to remove about 1,000 feet of concrete. Down by Old Cañon City Road, they forgot the left turn lane -- and with concrete, it's not as forgiving as asphalt because the jointing of the concrete is much more important."

Pittman added that the $41 million project remains on schedule for completion by the end of summer.

Crews have rebuilt a bridge and are widening part of the highway to four lanes; the wider section will be in concrete and in asphalt when the highway narrows to two lanes.

"There just wasn't enough funds to do all of it in concrete," Pittman said. "The future plan is to have (it) all concrete between Colorado Springs and Penrose. In Penrose, you've seen that they've added concrete there, so we're just kind of working towards each other as funding becomes available."

Workers also are adding turn lanes and passing lanes to improve traffic flow through the hilly area that is a popular route for heavy trucks.

Pittman said that there have been no problems with access to and from roads and neighborhoods along the work zone.