CDOT finally removes aggravating bumps on Powers Blvd, reveals upcoming strategy for similar bumps on I-25

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- This is exciting news for the thousands of daily drivers along Powers Boulevard who were tired of hitting several bumps that covered the width of the northbound lanes south of Airport Road.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently completed a six-week overnight operation to remove the bumps that were caused by a variety of damage to concrete panels.

For several years, CDOT tried to stabilize the bumps by patching them with concrete or other materials.

During CDOT's operation, crews replaced several dozen panels and repaired several hundred more by actually stitching them together.

That process, known as cross-stitching, lowered the overall repair cost and kept it to around $500,000.

CDOT said that many of the panels are as much as 30 years old and that, combined with constant traffic and water getting between and under the panels, this caused the damage.

In some cases, crews had to dig up to two feet under the panels to stabilize them.

So, what took so long for the repairs to happen?

CDOT said the operation is part of the ongoing project to build an overpass at Airport and Powers; it's within a work zone that already has lane closures, signage, and lower speed limits for worker and driver safety.

The I-25 bumps are not in construction zones and are more challenging to fix.

However, CDOT said a new strategy—starting as early as this fall—would select a specific contractor to respond to concrete repairs quickly, within a designated time period.

CDOT already has such an agreement for asphalt repairs but not for concrete, because the latter is more of a design issue than a maintenance issue.

In a related development, crews repaired a rough spot that developed this summer in the northbound lanes at the west end of the MLK Bypass; asphalt paved over concrete had crumbled and created several large potholes.

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