Category: krdo-local-news

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS/EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A stormwater project that started around Thanksgiving is about to cross busy North Gate Boulevard, marking the halfway point in a $5 million project that will lead to much-needed repaving work.

The county’s public works department is building a retention basin on the south side of the boulevard, between the northbound and southbound Interstate 25 overpasses.

Crews are also installing 3,000 feet of concrete pipes; construction is now in front of the Mining Museum and is ready to move north across North Gate, eventually advancing uphill to a new roundabout on Struthers Road.

The area is near the line between city and county jurisdictions and within the jurisdictions of the Air Force Academy and the Colorado Department of Transportation.

All four entities are partners in the project.

Because of the construction, traffic is down to one lane in each direction on the approaches to the crossover point, and eastbound North Gate is closed there — requiring traffic in both directions to share the westbound lanes.

Those traffic impacts began on Wednesday and will continue through the project’s expected completion in May.

“The dry weather we’ve had has really helped us make great progress,” said John Lantz, a senior engineer with the county. “Even the rain we had earlier in the week hasn’t been an issue. If it snows on Friday, we’ll work through it.”

After the county finishes the project, the city plans to repave the area as part of its annual 2C expanded paving program.

As KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported in the summer of 2024, neighbors and drivers have been frustrated by how long the work has taken, and how the condition of Struthers in particular has deteriorated.

Residents said that paving was supposed to happen five years ago, but couldn’t proceed until all involved parties could agree on the stormwater project.

Last year, the city repaved eastbound North Gate in front of the museum and filled numerous potholes around the North Gate/Struthers intersection, but many of those patches popped out over the winter.

In fact, The Road Warrior crew heard three vehicles blow their tires during a Friday morning live report — possibly while hitting one of several sizeable potholes on westbound North Gate.

By 8 a.m., approximately a dozen drivers reported pothole damage — likely from the same large pothole.

A worker arrived on scene to fill the pothole, but there appeared to be several other potholes growing in size and posing a threat to drivers.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – David Jung has been sober for 2.5 years. He says every day was a constant battle – until he found bouldering nine months ago.

Jung shares a common experience with recovering addicts. You get sober, but what next?

When Jung kicked the bottle, he said he lost his friends and his community. He still had the anxiety and depression that first pushed him toward alcoholism. Those problems didn’t magically go away.

He said he was constantly “white knuckling” day after day. He said he was ready to give up and go back to the bar. That’s when he found Phoenix Multisport.

Phoenix Multisport plans activities and outings for people looking to find a sober community, from yoga to weights to painting classes. Jung found his in the bouldering community.

Jung said bouldering gave him friends he could rely on and a challenge to overcome. Not only did it clear his head, but it gave him the courage to confront and attack the problems that drove him to addiction years before.

Now, Jung said he’s on a mission to help others find his path. He spearheads many of the bouldering programs with Phoenix Multisport.

Every activity through Phoenix Multisport is free. It’s not just for people in the recovery stage. Jung said anyone who has pushed themselves to be sober for 48 hours can come to any of the events for free.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Northbound drivers on the north end of 8th Street likely will have mixed feelings about the latest changes in the ongoing improvements project there.

The good news is that crews reopened the two eastbound lanes on the US 24 Frontage Road between 8th Street and Cimarron Street (US 24), as well as the right turn lane to the road.

We believe that happened around midnight.

The traffic alignment in that area will continue: One northbound lane and two southbound lanes open on 8th Street across the Fountain Creek bridge.

However, the closed lanes have shifted to the west, opening the right northbound lane for the first time in months and requiring a street sweeper to clean up accumulated dust on Thursday morning.

The single northbound lane creates frequent backups that often stretch to the 8th Street hill at Motor City Drive, which is the project’s southern boundary.

Officials said that the continued traffic alignment is necessary for crews to continue repair work on the 75-year-old bridge, and for them to keep drilling to locate underground utility lines under 8th Street.

The drilling is in advance of a water main replacement that Colorado Springs Utilities expects to start later this month.

You can see numerous colored markings to indicate the utility locations.

Earlier this week, a crew replaced crosswalk markings at the 8th Street/Cimarron Street intersection, which is the project’s northern boundary.

The initial plan was for the frontage road to reopen on Tuesday night, but rain delayed it, and crews were able to reopen the road in advance of snow expected overnight Thursday.

Officials also had planned to reopen the road at 7 p.m. Thursday, but needed to finish lane shifting and restriping first.

The frontage road had been closed since a week before Christmas — except for briefly reopening between Christmas and New Year’s.

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Donovan Pimentel

The Air Academy girls basketball team advances to the Class 5A Great Eight. The Kadets defeated Thompson Valley on Wednesday night 58-53. They will play Montrose on Saturday.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — One of the first Road Warrior reports when the beat started in February 2024 was on the county’s plan to spend nearly $11 million to make safety upgrades at two dozen crosswalks.

Joshua Palmer, the county’s head engineer, recently revealed that funding for the project is now available, that work should start soon in three phases, and that it should be completed by the end of the year.

“We’re adding or improving crosswalks,” Palmer said, detailing the nature of the upgrades. “Could be the crosswalks themselves. Could be signals at crosswalks, could be lighting at crosswalks. Could be speed mitigation going through those areas.”

The project’s cost will be split between the county and federal funds administered by the state.

Among the locations for crossing improvements are two fire stations, several schools, and a few mid-street crossings.

Palmer said that the crossings are not in what the county considers to be dangerous locations, and that no single location is a higher priority than another.

Meanwhile, the county has finished a separate project to improve safety at 63 intersections considered dangerous because of frequent crashes, injuries, deaths, and property damage.

Intersections were prioritized based on data from the Colorado Department of Transportation, and county commissioners allocated $1 million to the safety effort.

An interesting case is the intersection of Bradley Road and Bradley Lane; it wasn’t listed as a fatality location, but neighbors said that a motorcycle rider died in a crash there last fall.

David Wright, a neighbor, reflected on the tragedy while looking at the memorial on that corner from his home.

“There’s a lot of speeding on Bradley Road,” he said. “When I pull out of the driveway to get onto the street, it’s like pulling out of Pit Row at the Indy 500. You’d better punch it, or somebody’s going to be right on your tail. So, it needs some help.”

County officials said that safety upgrades ranged from new signs to fresh pavement markings to improved crosswalks and stop bars.

More complex safety changes addressed improved visibility, lighting, and pavement striping.

Falcon Highway led the list with four intersections receiving improvements.

However, Bradley Road topped the overall list with three intersection upgrades and three crosswalk upgrades.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado College theater students will perform their original dance “Of Earth and Error” this weekend at the Celeste Theater. Admission is free.

The group is called Dance6. The performers are comprised entirely of Colorado College students who partake in courses, workshops and events that culminate in their annual capstone performance.

One of the dances, titled “Alone Together,” features the performers in deer masks designed by the students.

“I’m so proud,” said Colorado College dance lecturer Patrizia Herminjard. “Wearing masks is actually quite tricky because the facegives us so much information, and it’s covered. And so we have to rely on the body to communicate that hyper awareness that comes from being prey.”

All but two of the performers are student-dancers balancing classwork and job searches with their practice.

“I feel like it’s really easy to let go and just be ourselves and be comfortable in our bodies and in our movement with one another because we spend so much time dancing with each other,” said Colorado College student and Dance6 performer Eleanor Lautenbach.

Of Earth and Error opened last weekend. The final two performance dates are this Friday and Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. It’s free for the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Rob Namnoum

The Lewis Palmer boys basketball team advances to the Class 5A Great Eight. The Rangers defeated Pueblo South on Tuesday night. 57-48. They will play the top seed in Class 5A, Palisade on Saturday.

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Rob Namnoum

The Mesa Ridge boys basketball team advances to the Class 5A Great Eight. The Grizzlies held off Palmer Ridge to win on Tuesday night 48-45. They will play Silver Creek on Saturday.

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Rob Namnoum

The Rampart boys basketball team lost in the Class 5A Sweet Sixteen on Tuesday 60-58 to Lutheran.

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Samantha Hildebrandt

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)– With gas prices climbing as global tensions continue — including ongoing conflict in the Middle East — many Coloradans are feeling the impact at the pump. As the war with Iran continues to ripple through energy markets, drivers are paying closer attention to what each fill-up is costing.

But it isn’t just commuters feeling the effects; travelers are watching costs, too. We sat down with a local Colorado Springs travel agent who says the phone is ringing nonstop with questions from clients about whether it’s still a good time to book a trip, where people are choosing to go, and how much travelers should expect to budget this year.

In Colorado Springs, one longtime travel agent says, so far, demand is holding steady.

Rico Colombo, who has worked at All-Inclusive Vacations and Cruises in Colorado Springs for 16 years, says he expected to see a slowdown as concerns grow over rising travel costs. Instead, he’s seeing consistent bookings, especially for spring break.

“People are still traveling,” Rico said. “They’re calling with questions, but they’re still booking.”

Just this week, Rico says he received three calls in one day for spring break trips to Mexico, including college groups looking to reserve up to 20 rooms. He’s also booking clients to popular Caribbean destinations like the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

While some travelers are expressing concerns about global instability and rising prices, Rico says no one has canceled their trips.

Instead, he’s noticing a shift in how people are planning.

“We’re seeing people budget more; they’re either budgeting or waiting for last-minute deals,” said Colombo. “Get on that bucket list, life is short, you can budget, and I encourage you to live your best life.”

Travelers are budgeting more carefully and asking more detailed questions about safety and potential price increases. Rico says his team closely monitors U.S. Department of State advisories and local reporting before recommending destinations and would never send clients somewhere they feel is unsafe.

While Colombo says summer and fall bookings are not as strong as he would typically like to see right now, spring break travel remains steady in Colorado Springs.

“Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic are the top three spots for spring break travel.”

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