An enormous project revitalizing West Colorado Avenue from Colorado Springs into Manitou Springs will cost far more than predicted.

The revamp of the stretch from 31st Street to U.S. 24, to be finished in December, will cost nearly $4 million more than the $30 million estimate given when crews broke ground in late 2016.

But El Paso County officials said the increase in design and construction costs was anticipated from the start of the Westside Avenue Action Plan project.

About $24 million is covered by sales tax collected by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

The county, both cities and the Colorado Department of Transportation also are chipping in funds.

When completed, the four-lane West Colorado Avenue, which turns into Manitou Avenue, will be transformed into a two-lane span bisected by a center turn lane and lined with bike lanes, widened sidewalks and vintage streetlights.

The 1.5-mile stretch had been known as No Man’s Land because it was controlled by two cities and the county, causing confusion during emergencies.

On March 13, county commissioners approved a contract amendment for about $1.3 million to be paid to the transportation planning and consulting firm Felsburg Holt & Ullevig.

Tuesday, they OK’d another $2.6 million for the bill owed to Wildcat Construction.

The governments originally budgeted for 85 percent to 90 percent of the cost, knowing plans and expenses likely would need tweaking as the project progressed, said Greg Dingrando, the county’s digital media specialist.

The county ultimately will pay about $1.1 million; Colorado Springs, $2.7 million; and Manitou Springs, about $50,000, Dingrando said.

The money comes first through the PPRTA, whose board last week allocated about $3.9 million for the project, money initially earmarked to improve Mesa Ridge Parkway.

Design work has not begun for Mesa Ridge Parkway, Dingrando said, and the three governments will repay that PPRTA money in 2019 and 2020.

The latest milestone in the Westside Avenue project came about two weeks ago, when crews finished installing a 30-inch waterline from the Adams Crossing Bridge, which spans Fountain Creek at Columbia Road, to Ridge Road, Dingrando said.

Now a concrete base is being built for the new bridge, which will allow the Midland Trail to extend from Manitou Springs through Old Colorado City to America the Beautiful Park downtown.

Traffic on West Colorado Avenue is restricted to one lane near Columbia Road during the bridge work.

Between Columbia and Ridge roads, crews are milling the pavement, preparing it for resurfacing when the project is nearer completion, Dingrando said.

Ridge Road between West Colorado and West Pikes Peak avenues was permanently closed in January.

That block will be converted by this fall into a plaza for pedestrians, cyclists and bus riders.

It will have bike racks, a bike repair vending machine and a separate lane for Mountain Metropolitan Transit buses so passengers can safely load and unload without disrupting traffic.

Near the project’s western edge, workers still are digging trenches along the avenue to bury some utilities, Dingrando said.

Crews have encountered a “slew of challenges,” from giant underground boulders to unmarked water lines, he said.

Whether the project cost will rise again is “hard to tell,” he said.

“We certainly hope not, and we’re not anticipating it to. But again, we don’t really know what we’ll run into.”

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Contact Rachel Riley: 636-0108