Replacing, relocating railroad crossing part of $12.7 million Twin Bridges project starting soon in Colorado Springs
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — An unusually designed but frequently used train crossing just south of downtown will close during the next year and be replaced by a new crossing a mile farther east.
The crossing is located at the intersection of Las Vegas and Royer Streets, situated atop a small but steep hill that can cause low-profile vehicles to become stuck, thereby interrupting train schedules and posing a traffic safety risk.
A study by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) determined that the crossing has a nonstandard design and has had 25 non-fatal vehicle/train collisions since 1975.
Officials said that the project, called the Twin Bridges Project, begins next month.
The first step is building an access road along Las Vegas, a mile east of the existing crossing and under the MLK Bypass on US 24, that will connect to nearby Hancock Avenue and be the location for a new crossing.
The existing crossing will be closed after that construction; Royer north of the tracks will become a cul-de-sac.
Officials said that the affected segment of Las Vegas will close for two weeks at the end of the project.
One lane of traffic in each direction will remain during most of the project, except during the first phase, when there will be one lane closed and another with alternating traffic.
“We’re going to be doing a new at-grade railroad crossing, with a lot of safety features for pedestrians and bikes to be able to make that traverse over the railroad,” said Gail Sturdivant, the city’s deputy public works director.
Drivers told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior that the existing crossing has existed for as long as they can remember, but no one seems to know when it was actually built.
The crossing is a popular shortcut for drivers traveling between neighborhoods east of downtown, heading to Interstate 25, Security-Widefield, and Fountain.
Sales tax revenue from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority is financing the $12.7 million project.