Hancock Expressway under Circle Drive in Colorado Springs to close for a month starting Monday

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — It's been nearly three months since construction of the four new bridges on South Circle Drive ended, and the remaining step of the overall project is to tear down the last piece of the old bridges.

That demolition work will require closing Hancock Expressway under the new bridges for four weeks, starting Monday.

The final segment of the old eastbound bridge is on the north end of the new structures, between two of the four new structures.

Workers began placing closure signs on Hancock shortly after 5:30 a.m.

Just south of Hancock are several pieces of heavy equipment and piles of broken concrete and twisted metal from the old bridges.

The old bridges were built in 1963 and were among a dozen in the city rated in poor condition.

According to the city's project website, the new bridge construction process relied on advanced project planning and design, innovative materials, and construction methods to reduce the time and effort required to replace the previous structures.

The benefits of the construction approach for the four bridges included improvements in safety, quality, durability, social costs, and environmental impacts.

This strategy reduced traffic and mobility impacts, onsite construction time, and weather-related time delays.

The overall project cost around $45 million, financed by sales tax revenue from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA).

Finally, the city said that other closures may be necessary this spring so that crews can install new water lines.