colorado announces plans for access road construction projects

The State of Colorado is hoping to secure over $128 million in federal funding for four extensive road projects designed to improve access to military installations in the Colorado Springs area.

The funding, to come through the federal Department of Transportation, would pay for the $84.2 million widening of a stretch of Interstate 25 running for seven and a half miles between South Academy Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue in Colorado Springs.

That work will also include the replacement of two bridges, the rehabilitation of six other bridges, and installation of medians.

One mile of South Academy Boulevard between Bradley Road and I-25 will be widened from two to three miles at a cost of $23 million.

Some $7.5 million will go for the widening a one-mile stretch of Colorado Highway 94 just to the north of the Patterson Air Force Base and Schriever Air Force Base; while a $12.6 million reconstruction is slated for Charter Oak Ranch Road, running from Santa Fe Avenue to Gate 19 of the Fort Carson Army Base.

Colorado Department of Transportation officials are hoping to secure funding for these projects through the federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grant program.

In a public statement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis asserted that, as a result of the increasing number of military personnel living in the Colorado Springs area, it has become imperative “to help ensure that our military installations can be safely and predictably accessed, even with the challenges of our growing population.”

A timeline for when work on any of the projects might begin has not yet been announced.

By Garry Boulard

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