Six-month ramp closure project begins Monday at I-25 & Fontanero
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Drivers and neighbors who had hoped the new Centennial Boulevard extension on the city's west side was finished, must now prepare to adjust to the final phase of the project.
On Monday, crews will close the northbound entrance and southbound exit ramps to Interstate 25, where the south end of the extension merges with the interchange at Fontanero Street; that will be followed by the closure of the northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps in the same area.
Each closure is expected to last three months.
Also closing Monday are the westbound lanes of Fontanero Street under I-25, requiring traffic in both directions to shift to the eastbound lanes; detours will be in place to direct traffic around the closure.
"Both a gas line and and electric line relocation is going to be happening under I-25, and then that whole road is going to be rebuilt and lowered to a little bit different elevation," said city engineer Gayle Sturdivant. "When they reconstruct the roadway, they're going to be adding a sidewalk and making it ADA-accessible in extending the trail."
She said that the improvements will provide a smooth connection to the Legacy Loop Trail network, between I-25 and Monument Creek.
The closures are needed for the safety of the traveling public and construction workers, and to allow for faster construction timelines to reduce overall traffic impacts to the public, Sturdivant said.
Residents who live along Chestnut Street, just west of the project area, expressed mixed feelings.
"I didn't even know this was going to happen until you told me about it," said Erik Juden. The only real detour I can take to get home, is Fillmore Street because Uintah Street doesn't go all the way through. It's three-quarters of a mile up to Fillmore, and when this was shut down before for a weekend, it was almost an hour to get to Fillmore from our house."
The project is close to where Kiersten Price walks her dog, Opal.
"This is my most direct exit to get home," she said. "I just found out (the project) is going to take (six) months. So, I'm a little upset about it, but I'll make the most of what I can do."
Sturdivant said that the affected segment of Fontanero -- already a low-lying area -- will be lowered by another five feet, which will make it easier to eventually replace two aging railroad bridges.
The Centennial extension from Fillmore to Chestnut streets opened last October, and this third and final phase is scheduled for completion this fall; the $20 million project is financed by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority sales tax.
