COLORADO SPRINGS — Drivers who travel South Academy Boulevard during early morning or evening hours should prepare for overnight road closures starting Sunday night as Colorado Springs works on major improvements to the busy corridor.
Happening at 7 p.m. Monday night, parts of South Academy Boulevard between Astrozon Boulevard and Drennen Road will fully close overnight and reopen at 5 a.m. The closures will continue through Thursday as part of the South Academy Boulevard Improvements Project.
Crews are rebuilding the road from East Fountain Boulevard to Jet Wing Drive while addressing drainage problems and upgrading utilities throughout the area.
"Because we're tearing the road up, the utilities are taking the opportunity to go ahead, upgrade a lot of utilities, which again, it provides that reliability, long-term service providing to that whole community," Ryan Phipps, a Civil Engineer with the City of Colorado Springs, said.
This week's closures will allow crews to remove old lane markings, add temporary markings, and set up concrete barriers for the ongoing construction project. The improvements aim to provide higher-quality pavement and better storm drainage, which officials say will enhance traffic safety in an area prone to water pooling on the roads.
"There's a lot of ponding when it rains or in the wintertime. There's a lot of icing that leads to accidents and things of that nature. So the storm drainage doesn't sound very fun, but actually improves our traffic safety," Phipps said.
During overnight closures, the city has established two separate detours for northbound and southbound traffic. One detour routes cars from Hancock Expressway to Drennen Road, while another redirects traffic from Astrozon Boulevard to Hancock Expressway.
City officials encourage drivers to exercise caution when traveling through the construction zone and follow the posted 35 mph speed limit.
"But over this next week, there's going to be a change every night. So we need drivers to, one, drive slowly and then just generally cautiously," Phipps said.
The overnight closures on this section of South Academy Boulevard will continue from Monday through Thursday.
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