South Academy Boulevard project to resume early next year but won’t be finished until 2028
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Many viewers have asked why work hasn’t continued this year on the project to improve two miles of South Academy Boulevard between Fountain Boulevard and Jet Wing Drive.
Preliminary construction began early last year and was initially delayed until this fall, but officials last week announced that work will continue on an unspecified date early next year.
The city also revealed that the project will not be completed until summer 2028 — two years later than originally scheduled.
Officials stated that they planned to hold an open house in September to inform and educate the community — comprising residents, merchants, and drivers — about the project’s impact.
The goal, they explained, is to avoid the significant impacts that accompanied the 2023-2024 northern phase of the Academy upgrades between Bijou Street and Airport Road.
Drivers often complained about traffic being frequently reduced to one lane in each direction, about temporary closures of Airport Road at the Academy intersection, and about construction discouraging customers from stopping at local businesses.
When the city’s longer Academy project resumes, officials said that they will try to minimize impacts by doing the work gradually — in four segments over the next two years — instead of in larger segments, as they did at the project’s northern end.
“It’s going to be a $44 million investment that’s going to be providing smoother roads, enhancing safety, providing better drainage, improving pedestrian access, and upgrading utilities through a partnership with Colorado Springs Utilities,” said Gayle Sturdivant, the city’s deputy public works director.
KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior previously reported that groundwater issues plagued both ends of the project, but particularly the south end; the infrastructure dates back to the 1950s and 1960s.
Business owners along the south end of the project said they’re aware of how impactful the project was on the north end, and are uneasy about what may happen this time — even with the city’s commitment to lessen the construction effects.
“I think it’s going to be a little bit worse because it’ll be winter soon,” said Sol Lopez, co-owner and manager of the 2 Luchos restaurant. “So, people take more precautions on where to drive and how to drive now. So, like a lot of traffic, the snow’s coming. It’s going to affect us in both directions.”
For more information about the project, visit: https://coloradosprings.gov/AcademyBlvdImprovements.