New, improved lanes open on northbound Interstate 25 near downtown Colorado Springs
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers now have some relief from the twists and narrow lanes they’ve endured during the ongoing construction project along 1.5 miles of I-25 between Fillmore Street and Garden of the Gods Road.
Two weeks ago, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) opened the three rebuilt northbound lanes; they’re wider, straighter, and feature a wider shoulder and new guardrail.
An interesting aspect of the new lanes is that they come to within only a few feet of Sinton Road, a frontage road along the east side of that segment of I-25.
That raises the question of how CDOT will find room to build the acceleration and deceleration lanes that will be designed to reduce the traffic bottleneck in that area and improve traffic flow by giving drivers more time to merge onto and off of the freeway.
Patti Henschen, a CDOT engineer, said that the final alignment for those lanes has yet to be finalized.
The southbound lanes will have more space to work around, as CDOT next improves those lanes to match the new northbound configuration.
Crews will also finish work on the median — ultimately building a concrete dividing wall — and make more drainage upgrades.
Another objective is to install more lighting to better illuminate the area at night.
The project has already replaced the two bridges over Ellston Street and made significant drainage improvements.
Work on the $62 million project started in the fall of 2023 and is scheduled for completion late next summer.