Two-phase safety improvement project underway on Garden of the Gods Road, west of Interstate 25, in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Crews have begun modifying the center median on one of the city's busiest roads in an effort to reduce crashes caused by drivers turning left across all six lanes of traffic.

Crews started work Monday on Garden of the Gods Road between I-25 and Chestnut Street, just west of the freeway.

That stretch of the road features a concentration of restaurants and other businesses, along with several dedicated left-turn lanes that lead to the access roads serving those establishments.

However, city officials stated that too many crashes have occurred when drivers exit the access roads and make left turns between heavy, speeding vehicles across the eastbound and westbound lanes.

"There will be some inside lane closures," said Todd Frisbie, the city's head traffic engineer. "Most of the time, it'll be a single lane in each direction. And then, maybe sometimes, we'll need two lanes. But again, we ask drivers to be patient. That construction will go as quickly as possible."

According to a release issued by the city last week, the affected segment of Garden of the Gods Road had 47 crashes and 16 injuries between 2015 and 2020.

The project's second phase starts next month, east of I-25, where Garden of the Gods Road intersects Northpark Drive and Mark Dabling Boulevard.

Crews will upgrade traffic signals at those locations.

Frisbie said that the signals are outdated and hang from wires; the upgrade will install mast arms to support new signals and provide more flexibility in how they're operated.

"Also, some pedestrian enhancements are going on at those two intersections," he explained. "We have new ramps, which will be more ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible at those locations. And it also allows us to operate our pedestrian activations a little bit differently."

Both projects will cost $2 million and are funded by a federal grant and by an allocation from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

The city expects to complete both projects by the end of the year.

For the median project, drivers should also be aware of possible backups on the I-25 northbound exit ramp to Garden of the Gods Road; crews will have only one lane open at the bottom of the ramp to avoid traffic congestion that could slow construction.

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