Pueblo interchange project taking shape five months after construction begins

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) $114 million construction project has transformed the east side of the interchange at Interstate 25 and US 50 East and is being closely watched by many longtime residents.

"I'm liking what I'm seeing," said James Tafoya, a Pueblo native. "I haven't noticed any traffic impacts. Everything has been smooth. I was worried about that, as first."

Hurley Sammon, another lifelong Puebloan, agrees.

"I was excited, I really was," he recalled about the start of the project. "It's about time. (The infrastructure) is old, you know? We need something new, something better. Something to get traffic moving, you know?"

Among five bridges CDOT will build, two will replace poor-rated bridges across Fountain Creek, the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and I-25; the latter has been damaged by collisions from semi trucks.

The support structure for one of the bridges is clearly visible, as work continues since groundbreaking last November; CDOT officially announced the project a month earlier, after securing federal funding.

Other project objectives include repaving I-25 through the interchange with concrete; improving drainage and erosion control; building a sound wall to protect neighbors west of the freeway; create a new connection to the Fountain Creek Trail; and shift the interchange slightly north of its current location.

Some family members said they used walking their dog along the trail Wednesday as an opportunity to see the construction for the first time.

"The project is moving along very nicely," said Scott Dalton, CDOT's project manager. "We're approximately 10% complete at this time. Traffic will continue to use the current bridges for another year or so. We'll continue to watch them."

The rebuilt interchange also will bring the Steel City and Home of Heroes its first diverging diamond interchange — a traffic pattern similar to what exists at the I-25/Fillmore Street and Powers Boulevard/Research Parkway bridges in Colorado Springs.

Some residents expressed concerns about the project.

"I can think of better things that need to be done," said Beverly Rosales. "So, am I in favor of it? Not really. I think it's a waste of our money."

Janet Ortiz owns the Emergi-Medical Care Center on te east side of the project.

"I'm not really sure what it's going to do to the property value, either -- because this freeway traffic is going to run right alongside our building," she said. "So, we'll just have to wait and see how it's all going to pan out."

Some neighbors said that another project benefit was clearing out homeless camps and activity along the creek.

"I knew that there were homeless people down there, but not as many as I saw coming out of there," one neighbor said.

CDOT expects to finish the project by summer 2027.