Late addition to street repaving list slowed traffic on part of busy Manitou Springs corridor Thursday
Scott Harrison
MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — It’s wasn’t described as an emergency repair job, but town officials said that a repaving project Thursday on the main route through town had a high priority.
The work done by crews was actually less repaving and more filling large potholes on a block of Manitou Avenue between Pawnee Avenue — in front of the Manitou Springs Public Library — and Canon Avenue.
Officials wanted to restore the street segment to cover several spots where digging into it was required for water main repairs this winter, adding that temperatures have only recently become consistently warm enough for asphalt work.
The project also was delayed by the realization that Manitou Avenue is the business route for US 24 — which passes above the town — and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) had to approve any changes there.
Finishing the project before the start of Memorial Day weekend and the summer tourist season further lends a sense of urgency to the project.
The street repairs increased traffic congestion in what’s already a heavily-traveled corridor under normal conditions.
No parking was allowed in the affected block, and the work didn’t affect pedestrians visiting the many shops on the avenue — although it likely too longer to find parking.
A town release earlier this week announced that crews would work from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday but the project’s contractor, Pyramid Construction, said that the project would be finished by the end of the day Thursday — emphasizing that the patches are only temporary because more work is needed on the water main in the filled locations.
The town previously hired Pyramid to do 15 other projects this season that will be traditional street repaving; The Road Warrior reported on those streets in March.