Overnight Sunday closure of stretch of South Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs ends as part of continued safety project

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- On the last night of the holiday weekend, we saw the first major change in the safety improvement project on South Nevada Avenue that started in mid-May.

Crews moved concrete barriers from inner lanes in a narrow configuration, to outer lanes in a wider configuration.

The shift of barriers required closing the three affected blocks of Nevada between Interstate 25 and Brookside Street, from 9 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. Monday.

Workers expected to finish moving the barriers well before most of us returned to work Monday morning.

A clear indication of some of the project's progress so far, is the construction of a brick-lined center median. 

The $9 million project is designed to improve safety for traffic, pedestrians and non-motorized travel such as with bicycles, wheelchairs and scooters.

Crews also will build a pedestrian bridge across nearby Cheyenne Creek, install wider sidewalks on Nevada and two adjacent blocks of Tejon Street, replace the traffic signal at the Nevada/Brookside Street intersection, and improve lanes to make turning and driving through the interchange easier and safer.

The project should be finished in December; the last phase will repave the affected areas of Nevada, Tejon, Motor Way and Arvada Street.

Officials hope the upgrades increase safety for the significant amount of homeless activity in the area, and prevent tragedies like the pedestrian/vehicle crash that killed a homeless victim last fall.

The project continues to frustrate people who live in the area, work in it or drive through it -- partly because of slower traffic and fewer turns allowed.

"I think the overall goal of the project will be amazing -- and if they can clean up underneath that Tejon bridge, that would be awesome, too," said Anne Jaques, a visitor from Pueblo. "But in the meantime, I'm not very pleased with the situation as it stands."