Drivers rejoice as Willwood Tunnel reopens, restoring convenient route
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers on the city’s southwest side have been without a popular shortcut under I-25 between the Broadmoor World Arena and the south end of Janitell Road since February 2024.
Officials closed the one-way, single-lane Willwood Tunnel for safety reasons — explaining that there was too much traffic congestion from drivers using the tunnel to detour around the recent replacement of four bridges on South Circle Drive.
However, much to the pleasant surprise of many drivers, the tunnel reopened on Thursday.
“I wasn’t sure,” said Reilly Schiefelbein. “I feel like they had signage up for a while, and I just realized there was no signage. So, I said, Let me go see if they opened that back up. Because it was such a great way to take, you know?”
Traffic flows eastbound only through the tunnel because Willwood Road near the arena has more traffic than Janitell, which dead-ends a short distance to the south.
“You have I-25,” said Gregory Maasen, a cyclist. “How do you otherwise get to the other side? The only recommendation I would have is, for cyclists, that you make it a two-way (tunnel).”
City officials issued a press release on Thursday morning to announce that the tunnel would officially reopen on Friday, but a spokesman said that crews had finished removing concrete barriers and cleaning up accumulated trash and debris sooner than expected.
KRDO13’s The Road Warrior often heard from viewers who asked when the tunnel would reopen and when the area would be cleaned up; the city promised that the tunnel would reopen when the bridge project neared full completion.
Earl Harris disagreed with the city’s decision to close the tunnel for two years.
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but I think that made it more congested by having to go around, everybody going around, than having a little shortcut,” he explained.
According to records, the tunnel was built in 1963 — three years after I-25 through town opened — as part of the original project to build the South Circle bridges.