Construction, traffic impacts begin on Stone Avenue water main replacement in Colorado Springs
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Northbound traffic on part of Stone Avenue around a water main project is closed as Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) enters its fourth day of construction.
CSU is replacing an iron pipe with a PVC pipe along a mile of the avenue, from just north of Fillmore Street to Winters Drive, near the Birdsall power plant and the old race track.
“There are multiple, different factors that go into why they choose the type of pipe that they use — whether it’s soil conditions, the pressure,” said Cassie Melvin, of CSU Communications.
Work began on Thursday, and on Monday, crews removed and replaced the first segment of the old pipe.
Turns from Fillmore northbound on Stone are not allowed.
“One thing that we are also installing in addition to the water line is fire hydrants along Stone,” Melvin explained. “Obviously, that’s a benefit to the community, as well as to surrounding restaurants and businesses. We will also replace the existing hydrants there.”
She said that CSU is investing $1 million in the project, which is currently in its first of five phases.
Once the water main is installed, the city will perform $6 million in stormwater upgrades along Stone, from just north of the McDonald’s parking lot to Nichols Boulevard.
Melvin said that all of the projects won’t be finished until early next year.
“There will be occasional water outages that we’ll be keeping business owners aware of,” she said.
Of the dozen or so businesses along Stone, the one most affected is likely Planet Granite, a stone countertop manufacturer and distributor that owns nearly all of the buildings along the west side of the closure.