Lane closures on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs resume after monthlong delay
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — By now, drivers should be accustomed to lane closures along busy Austin Bluffs Parkway that are part of the ongoing construction of a new power substation by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU).
This week, crews closed the right westbound lane between Goldenrod Drive — near the future substation site — and the Union Boulevard exit.
Workers are installing new underground electric lines that will connect to the substation.
“It will eventually eliminate the need for above-ground power lines around the substation,” said CSU spokesperson Cassie Melvin/
This phase of the project was supposed to begin a month ago, but CSU decided late on the morning of the start date to delay work.
“They wanted to do a little bit more prep work and inspection work,” Melvin explained. “Just to get some more of the materials here as well, before we close the road. Because they wanted to close the road as close to the project beginning as possible.”
Alternating lane closures in both directions of Austin Bluffs in that area will continue through the end of May.
For this round of work, crews will not use steel barriers that were installed previously to separate crews from traffic.
“They’re using cones and barrels because it’s a shorter duration of a closure,” Melvin said. “Crews will need to move them quickly to the next two phases (lane closures).”
That makes slowing down in the work zone more important than ever.
There were similar lane closures between August 2024 and April 2025; during that period, crews performed other utility line relocations, including an above-ground natural gas line.
That phase was delayed four months when crews discovered an unexpected utility line that had to be identified and required other existing lines to be relocated around it.
CSU hopes to begin operating the substation — that will replace several older stations — next January.
The project costs around $40 million, including $6 million for utility line relocations.
After the project ends, the winding, narrow corridor will need a good repaving.