Life will change for motorists traveling Interstate 25

near Woodmen Road in about two weeks. That’s when construction begins to widen the highway from Woodmen to Monument.

Other improvements are included in the project, expected to be completed by December except for additional paving in 2014.

“We’re very excited about this,” Colorado Department of Transportation project manager Dan Hunt told El Paso County commissioners Tuesday. “It’s a good thing for this community.”

The highway will be widened to six lanes — from two lanes to three in each direction — for the 11-mile stretch from Woodmen to Colorado 105 on the south edge of Monument.

The project is broken into five segments, with three segments scheduled to be done by midsummer. Construction will begin in the Woodmen-to-InterQuest Parkway corridor, with workers gradually moving north.

Additional improvements include rebuilding the North Gate Boulevard interchange and adding an auxiliary lane — a fourth lane for motorists entering and exiting the freeway — from Woodmen to InterQuest.

The North Gate interchange will be remodeled into a diamond configuration, which will eliminate circular exits and entrances to the freeway.

One concern, Hunt said, is not hampering traffic during Air Force Academy graduation or football games, so that work is expected to be completed during summer months.

The Ackerman Overlook — a scenic pullover for tourists heading south — will be relocated about 2,000 feet north but still south of InterQuest Parkway. The pullover for northbound trucks to put on tire chains will be moved farther north, near the Walmart on Baptist Road.

Kiewit Infrastructure is the contractor for the $66.5 million job.

“We’ll spend about

$30 million locally on jobs and materials,” said Mike McDonald, Kiewit’s project manager. “Our first task is to set up concrete barriers to protect our crews. The

No. 1 concern is driver and work crew safety.”

Speeds will be reduced by 10 mph during the day and perhaps more from 8:30 p.m.

to 5 a.m. when night crews are working.

Kiewit’s contract requires the company to provide a “courtesy patrol” from 7 to

9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We’ll have people cruising the corridor that will be able to assist motorists in need,” McDonald said.

He said the courtesy patrol can provide water, a small amount of gas, a short-term tow and help with minor

repairs.

The corridor handles about 110,000 vehicles per day, covering about 6 million miles.

The mandatory deadline for completing the project is December 2014. Kiewit was awarded the contract largely because it said it could finish the job before the end of 2013, although the company will likely add a layer of asphalt to the highway in the summer of 2014 because asphalt can’t be put down when the temperature is below 50 degrees.

ONGOING CLOSURES

Short-term lane closures on I-25 are scheduled from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. so CDOT can collect soil and pavement samples to help design the widening project.

Speeds will be reduced to 65 mph in the work zone, which will cover about a mile at a time, CDOT spokesman Bob Wilson said.

Thursday is the final night for a lane closure on northbound I-25 between the North Gate interchange and Baptist Road. Beginning Sunday, a lane closure will occur for southbound traffic beginning at Colorado 105 and gradually moving south to Woodmen Road.

Southbound work is expected to be done by Feb. 22.

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Contact Bob Stephens: 636-0276

Twitter @bobgstephens

Traffic along Interstate 25 at Interquest Parkway on a Friday during the afternoon rush hour. (Christian Murdock, The Gazette file) Photo by