South Academy widening project in El Paso County nears completion
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A major road project that many people thought would never end is now just a few months from being finished.
Officials said that most of the 2-1/2 year, $70 million widening of 1.5 miles of South Academy Boulevard, between Interstate 25 and Milton E. Proby Parkway, should be completed by early January.
The project is the fourth and final phase of the MAMSIP (Military Access, Mobility, and Safety Improvements Projects), designed to increase traffic flow and safety in and around local military installations.
Brett Hartzell, project manager for the South Academy phase, stated that the traffic impacts should be resolved by early January, but final aspects of the project will continue through the winter.
“There is still some scour and bridge work that we plan to do,” he explained, referring to the pillars of the two bridges over Fountain Creek. “Winter is the best time for that because that’s when the creek flow is lowest. The work is similar to what we did early in the project, in late fall 2023 and winter 2024. We’re having to do more of that work than expected.”
Hartzell said that the bridges are approximately 50 years old and that the repair work should extend their use by another 25 to 30 years.
Drivers should expect to see continued occasional lane shifts and ramp closures as crews finish lane striping, constructing medians, and installing new street lights.
The completed project will make entering and exiting South Academy much easier from three major access points: I-25, Highway 85/87, and Bradley Road.
Perhaps the project’s largest impact was on the Stratmoor Valley neighborhood, on both sides of South Academy near I-25, with the only two ways in and out going through the construction zone.
Crews installed sound walls to reduce noise and built sidewalks in common areas along the walls.
“I’m excited, for sure,” said Andrew Piercy, a neighbor. “It’s been frustrating, for sure. You know, they had this exit closed one day, and then that one down there closed another day. And, you know, getting onto Academy going this way, was closed. It caused a lot of issues with me getting to work and all kinds of stuff.”