Accelerated Construction to Temporarily Impact Travel Patterns at I-25/North Gate Boulevard Interchange

September 19, 2013 - Southeastern Colorado/CDOT Region 2 - Partial closure scheduled to build North Gate interchange roundabouts.

Colorado Springs – A 19-day temporary travel pattern change at the Interstate 25-North Gate Boulevard interchange will allow the contractor expanding I-25 to rebuild the interchange faster than previously planned.

The travel pattern change is scheduled to take place 1:30 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 22 through 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 10.  This temporary change will close the section of North Gate Boulevard between the ramps on the east and west sides of the interstate (see attached illustration). Without the temporary partial closure, construction would take about three months and would require multiple traffic shifts to give crews room to work around live traffic.

The following traffic patterns for vehicles on I-25 will not change during construction:

  • Southbound I-25 Exit 156B to the Air Force Academy remains open.
  • Northbound I-25 Exit 156A to eastbound North Gate Boulevard remains open.

The following traffic patterns for vehicles on North Gate Boulevard will not change during construction:

  • Northbound I-25 onramp from westbound North Gate Boulevard remains open.
  • Southbound I-25 onramp for traffic leaving the Air Force Academy remains open.

Detours will be clearly marked during construction, which will impact the following traffic patterns:

  1. Vehicles northbound on I-25 will be unable to enter the Air Force Academy via Exit 156A
    Detour: Northbound I-25, exit at Baptist Road (Exit 158), re-enter southbound I-25, exit to the Air Force Academy (Exit 156B).
  2. Vehicles westbound on North Gate Boulevard will be unable to enter southbound I-25
    Detour: Northbound I-25 to Baptist Road (Exit 158), re-enter southbound I-25. Or, drive Voyager Parkway south to Interquest Parkway, Interquest Parkway west to southbound I-25.
  3. Vehicles leaving the Air Force Academy via the north gate will be unable to enter northbound I-25
    Detour: I-25 south to Interquest Parkway (Exit 153), east to Voyager Parkway, north on Voyager Parkway, west on North Gate Boulevard, to northbound I-25 onramp. Or, for those with military identification or a pass, south on Stadium Boulevard to the Air Force Academy’s south gate and the entrance to northbound I-25.
  4. Vehicles southbound on I-25 will be unable to use Exit 156A to travel east on North Gate Boulevard
    Detour: Exit I-25 at Baptist Road (Exit 158), drive east to Struthers Road, Struthers Road south to North Gate Boulevard. Or, exit at Interquest Parkway (Exit 153) east to Voyager Parkway, then north to North Gate Boulevard.

The temporary change to travel patterns at the interchange will enable the contractor to accelerate construction of two roundabouts and complete most of the work necessary to reopen the interchange with minimal impacts to U.S. Air Force Academy activities.  When construction is complete, the two existing loop ramps to eastbound and westbound North Gate Boulevard will be permanently removed. A third loop ramp from eastbound North Gate Boulevard to northbound I-25 also will be permanently removed.

“We understand this closure will temporarily inconvenience some drivers and businesses in the area,” said Dan Hunt, Colorado Department of Transportation manager for the @i25expansion Project, “but the short-term closure will result in long-term gains for the traveling public and local businesses.”

I-25 expansion construction is more than 40 percent complete. The contractor remains committed to its goal of opening the third traffic lane in each direction by Dec. 31, 2013 with full construction completion in July 2014, almost six months earlier than CDOT’s requirement of December 2014.

All work is subject to road and weather conditions.

More @i25expansion Project information is available by visiting www.southi25expansion.com. Call the project hotline at 719-247-8339 to have comments and questions addressed by the project team. To receive project updates via email or text, register at www.coloradodot.info and click on the green cellphone in the upper right corner of the page.