Coming next year: Major improvements project on Interstate 25 at Exit 108 interchange north of Pueblo
Scott Harrison
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is currently designing a plan to make numerous safety and traffic upgrades at the Exit 108 interchange on I-25, approximately five miles north of Pueblo.
The exit takes westbound drivers onto Purcell Boulevard and serves as a shortcut to Pueblo West, while the eastbound road connects to the former I-25 Speedway property.
Among the issues with the interchange: It’s no longer able to safely and efficiently handle the amount of traffic it receives.
CDOT said that most of the traffic there comes eastbound from Pueblo West and heads north to Colorado Springs.
The main concern is that traffic in both directions under I-25 must share a single-lane tunnel — technically called a box culvert — which can make it difficult for drivers exiting the freeway to see approaching traffic.
Carrie Fuller, a Pueblo-area resident who contacted KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior about the situation, said that the narrow tunnel floods occasionally, has large potholes on both ends, and has collision damage at the top from semi-trucks that have gotten stuck trying to pass through.
CDOT’s solution is to replace the tunnel with a three-span bridge, similar to the relatively new bridge farther south at the Dillon Drive interchange.
“Building the bridge will require us to raise the interstate,” said Jennifer Sparks, a CDOT engineer. “Which means we’ll have to kind of trace that profile back a ways and rebuild all four ramps, rebuild the bridge, and rebuild the roads connecting to the ramps.”
The project will start next year and take 18 months to complete, at a cost of between $40 million and $45 million.
CDOT said that most of the construction will be on the west side of the bridge and will include a roundabout.
“I’m glad to hear it’s on their radar and going to be addressed,” Fuller said.