Here’s a look at other major streets on this year’s repaving list in Colorado Springs
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — As the longest stretch of street being repaved this year, Circle Drive’s six miles have received considerable attention.
But segments of three other streets, each covering approximately 2.5 miles, are in equally rough condition, and they will be resurfaced, too.
Union Boulevard, from Academy Boulevard to Austin Bluffs Parkway, is one many drivers have complained about to KRDO13’s The Road Warrior, particularly the northern block between Academy and Ranch Lane.
Also being repaved is Chelton Road, between Platte Avenue and Airport Road; a sign along the street indicates that it was used as a test strip in 2006 for asphalt mixed with rubber from old tires.
The same mixture was applied a year earlier on Woodmen Road between I-25 and Academy Boulevard, but it performed so poorly that crews removed it last year and repaved the street with a more durable—and expensive—type of asphalt.
The third major street to be repaved is Palmer Park Boulevard, between Academy and Circle; the eastbound approach to the Palmer Park/Circle intersection has badly deteriorated.
It seems hard to believe that any street would be so badly deteriorated, and the 2C expanded paving program still has to address two-thirds of city streets over the next ten years.
Corey Farkas, the city’s operations and maintenance manager, understands the public’s frustration with waiting, in many instances, for years for certain streets to be repaved.
But he explains why the process can’t move faster.
“Because it is a moving target,” he said. “Because we do have so many stakeholders we coordinate with. We don’t want to promise a roadway in a specific year, and then maybe one of our stakeholders comes to us and says, Hey, we now have a project. We now have a project on that particular roadway. Can you defer that two years?”
Farkas asks drivers for their continued patience and understanding, and to drive carefully through work zones and around construction crews.
“We’re committed to 2C,” he insisted.