CDOT reaches halfway point in $46 million overpass project at Powers & Airport in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — It was last summer that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) broke ground on the project to build a bridge on Airport Road that crosses busy Powers Boulevard on the city's east side.

Work still has another year to go, with the scheduled completion date of December 2026.

With each passing day, however, progress becomes more visible and the structure looks more like it will be in its final configuration.

The concrete paving that you see through here is about 75% complete," said Patti Henschen, a CDOT engineer. "The bridge (is) complete. We've tied into (it). We're in the process of doing some of the finishing touches on the bridge itself. The roadway south of the bridges cannot be completed until the traffic on Airport Road is down to the bridge."

Henschen refers to the future northbound entrance ramp and the southbound exit ramp connecting to the bridge.

The project will relocate the new Airport/Powers interchange slightly north of its current intersection location, providing a more direct route for traffic entering and exiting the west gate of Peterson Space Force Base.

Henschen said that CDOT will install traffic signals under the bridge next year, and the bridge traffic itself will feature a diverging diamond traffic pattern similar to what's already in place on the Fillmore Street bridge over Interstate 25 and on the Powers overpass at Research Parkway, which opened two years ago.

CDOT meets regularly with Peterson leadership, she explained, to keep them updated on any project changes that could affect the installation's schedule.

Henschen said that work remains on schedule, despite delays due to cold weather last winter and to rain this spring and summer.

"We've been doing a lot of the work with no interruption to the traffic main lanes," she said. "We're doing it off-site. We get delayed, but we've been working weekends. There has been some night work, as well, for some things."

Because the concrete paving has created more surface area for runoff from rain and melting ice, and snow, crews are building three water quality ponds designed to collect runoff and allow it to drain gradually.

Several years ago, CDOT returned to its original plan to build overpasses at the busiest Powers intersections; the agency revealed which intersections could be next.

"Stetson Hills?" Henschen said. "I know Milton E. Proby Parkway is under design right now, but the funding for it is so far in the future, we don't know."

And by the time funding is available, such projects likely will cost $50 million or more.