Construction at the Peterson Road and Highway 24 interchange outside Peterson Space Force Base's North Gate continues with the current phase of the $15.3 million project expected to last through fall 2026.
Earlier in 2026, the northbound lanes on Peterson Road closed for improvements. A City of Colorado Springs traffic engineer said the full closure of the northbound lanes is essential to leave enough safe space for construction crews.
All cars must adhere to traffic cones on the west side of the road. The city advises drivers to seek alternate routes to Highway 24 and avoid the area if they can.
However, for drivers living nearby, there are few better options. Diane Schmidt lives off Peterson Road and said the interchange is her best bet to get into town. She noted that the change from two lanes merging to one at the Peterson Road underpass creates a bottleneck, and drivers need to pay extra attention.
"During the week, it gets very hectic. I’ve seen so many near accidents," Schmidt said. "In fact, we almost got into an accident nearly an hour ago."
Jakob Nyquist also relies on the route to get home.
"We have to come towards this intersection," Nyquist said. "If I took powers instead, that’s easily an extra 10 minutes home."
Nyquist added that it is especially hard for drivers to see road signs going northbound on Peterson Road when it is dark out.
"Me and my girlfriend, every Wednesday, we go to the bowling alley so we come back this way. At night the one side is pretty easy, the other side not so much," Nyquist said.
The goal of the project is to increase traffic along the roadway outside the base's North Gate. City estimates show the project should cost about $15.3 million. Of that total, $10.7 million came through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, a federal grant.
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