COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Drivers along Colorado Highway 115 will need to navigate construction zones for several more weeks. The $10.4 million resurfacing project, originally scheduled to finish by the end of September, has been pushed back to late October after a stretch of unusually heavy rain slowed progress.
Since February, crews from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) have been working nights and evenings along a six-mile stretch from Fort Carson north to South Nevada Avenue. The improvements include resurfacing worn pavement, upgrading pedestrian signals, and replacing curb ramps and guardrails to improve both safety and accessibility.
CDOT says resurfacing work is now more than halfway done, but businesses along the corridor say the disruption has had real impacts.
At Top Tier Taperz Barbershop on Star Ranch Road, owner and barber Alaina Cordova said she welcomes the upgrades but admits they come with challenges. “I’m very glad they’re fixing the roads. They were awful, but it does cause a little bit of complications with roads being shut down, people having to go around,” Cordova said.
Nearby, Edelweiss German Restaurant has also felt the slowdown. General Manager Dieter Schnakenberg explained that customer traffic has dropped as congestion worsened. “The customers and just the public in general have kind of decided to stay away from the South Nevada, South Tejon area. It’s just been backed up and difficult to get around,” he said.
Cordova added that even for clients who still come, travel times have led to scheduling problems. “Tardiness and stuff like that. It can cause clients that have appointments to show up late, which makes us late for our next one,” she said.
Despite these setbacks, CDOT maintains that the project is making strong progress. Resident Engineer Patti Henschen said crews have already delivered key upgrades. “We completed a lot of the sidewalks, ADA ramps, and medians along the stretch of road between Brookside down to Fort Carson Gate 1,” Henschen noted.
When finished, the resurfaced roadway will provide smoother travel and safer intersections. Schnakenberg, while acknowledging the short-term frustrations, expressed optimism about the long-term benefits for the neighborhood. “I think all of it’s going to be for the better in the end. This area of town has always been a little run down and needed some gentrification, so I’m glad to see that that’s coming,” he said.
For now, drivers and business owners alike will need to adjust to several more weeks of delays, with CDOT confident that the project will wrap before the end of October.
Originally reported by Meghan Glova in KOAA News.
.webp)
