Too much construction? Water main project on Galley Road in Colorado Springs stops until October
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Having two major construction projects just a few blocks apart on the east end of Galley Road has become too impactful for traffic and businesses there.
As a result, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is pausing its water main project on Galley Road, just west of Powers Boulevard, until sometime in October.
CSU and Colorado Springs have been monitoring impacts in the area, considering the city's adjacent drainage project at the intersection of Galley and Wooten Road.
Both projects require traffic control and detours.
CSU recently sent a letter to neighbors, informing them of the temporary delay in the water main work.
Crews have removed some of the equipment on-site and will gradually remove the rest, so drivers should expect one lane in each direction to continue; crews have also reconnected the water main and paved over excavated street sections.
CSU expects that by October, the city's project will advance enough to allow the water main project to resume.
Both projects are scheduled for completion by the end of the year, and CSU spokesperson Cassie Melvin said that only two weeks of work will remain on the water main when crews return.
The city released a statement on Friday that its drainage project remains on schedule.
The situation has raised concerns among neighbors, drivers, and nearby business owners about what they believe is a lack of planning and coordination between the city and CSU.
Equally frustrating to citizens is that the water main project started two years ago and reminds them of a bridge replacement project -- west of the current projects -- that also took two years because of unexpected delays and wasn't completed until this spring.
A manager at the Servpro restoration company said that during construction, the building lost water service several times without warning.
Melvin said that she would investigate the matter.
"We understand the frustration," she said. "But given contractors' schedules, weather, challenges we've had with service lines, different things like that, it's just delayed the project a little bit."
She added that the final phase involves closing Galley at the Babcock Road intersection.
"It's to get all the service lines tied into the new water main," she explained.
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