Jeez, you might be asking, how long has it been since crews started building the interchange at Austin Bluffs Parkway and Union Boulevard?

Well, let’s put it this way. The same month work started on the $35.7 million intersection, President Bush delivered a State of the Union speech with these words:  “A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy – and that is what we have. This economy is on the move, and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government, but with more enterprise.”That was Jan. 23, 2007.

The economy might have quit working over the last two years but not the crews working in the narrow valley bisected by the two busy roads. In fact, in just a couple weeks, crews will pack up their trucks and heavy equipment and move on. The city is planning a ceremony Nov. 8 to mark the completion of the interchange project, city spokeswoman Mary Scott said late this week. Work will continue for a bit on a nearby drainage channel, but the project for all intents will be over.

The work to carry traffic over Union and construct the necessary turn and exit lanes was, undoubtedly, a pain for many Springs residents. The intersection is reportedly the busiest in the city, with 100,000 vehicles passing through each day. Many of those drivers spent a lot of seat time in the area, delayed by lane closures, long back-ups for short-timed traffic signals and a 25 mph speed limit.But it was a massive project in a tight geographic area, with the need to keep traffic moving through.

Some gee-whiz facts from Scott:· 14,817 tons of concrete were used to build bridges, retaining walls and sound walls · 663 tons of rebar were used to build the 20-foot high bridge · 35,277 tons of asphalt were used to pave roadways· Nearly seven miles of curb and gutter were installed· 93 trees were transplanted· 177 new trees were planted· 3,851 shrubs and ornamental grasses were added· 14 acres were seededThe project was paid for by the 2004 voter-approved 1 percent sales tax funneled through the Pikes Peak Regional Transit Authority. The interchange itself cost $26 million, with the remainder going to design, on- and off-ramps, pedestrian walkways and trail connections.

With the completion of the interchange, the city’s focus will turn to another project: widening Woodmen Road and the construction of an interchange at Academy Boulevard. That promises to be equally challenging for both construction crews and motorists.

The first phase will widen Woodmen to three lanes in each direction from Interstate 25 to Stinson Drive, just west of Union Boulevard. The most challenging part: raising Woodmen onto an interchange bridge to cross over Academy.

The city has been acquiring property needed for the expanded road, and that expensive and politically sensitive work is scheduled to be completed around the first of the year.

The actual nuts-and-bolts construction won’t begin in earnest until spring 2009. The work will take at least two years. The second phase of the project will widen Woodmen from Stinson to Powers Boulevard and won’t start until the first phase is complete. A third phase, building an interchange at Union, has not been scheduled or allocated money yet. The project, like that at Austin Bluffs, will be funded with PPRTA money.Tell me your commuter tales. 636-0197 or bill.mckeown@gazettedev.gazette.com