Lane closures on Interstate 25 are scheduled this week as crews continue work on a state project adding acceleration and deceleration lanes between Fillmore Street and Garden of the Gods Road in Colorado Springs.

Beginning 8 p.m. Tuesday through 6 a.m. Wednesday, crews will close the southbound I-25 righthand lane between mile marker 146, Garden of the Gods Road, and mile marker 144, the Centennial Boulevard exit (formerly called the Fontanero Street exit).

Construction crews will completely close Ellston Street over Interstate 25 in Colorado Springs beginning 7 a.m. Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, through Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. The closure is part of work on a state project adding acceleration and deceleration lanes between Fillmore Street and Garden of the Gods Road, and updating the aging Ellston Street bridge.

Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Transportation

From 10 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday, there will be a double lane closure on the southbound I-25 righthand lanes between Garden of the Gods Road and Centennial Boulevard.

There will be no work Wednesday to Thursday.

Crews will then completely close Ellston Street over I-25 at 7 a.m. Friday through Saturday.

The work is part of a $62 million project led by the Colorado Department of Transportation that will add continuous acceleration and deceleration lanes to north- and southbound I-25 in the heart of Colorado Springs, spanning from Garden of the Gods Road to Fillmore Street.

According to the project website, SEMA Construction crews will construct the new lanes where the existing right shoulder is located along the interstate.

“These auxiliary lanes aim to even out traffic flow and assist drivers in merging and exiting traffic efficiently,” state transportation officials said in a Friday news release announcing the lane closures. 

To enhance road safety, crews will also resurface the roadway, will address drainage concerns on the road, and will install permanent stop signs at Chestnut Street after project completion.

At the same time as the auxiliary lane project, crews will reconstruct and widen the aging bridge on I-25 over Ellston Street and also will repair the bridge deck on the Garden of the Gods overpass structure.

Upgrades to intelligent transportation system infrastructure, such as fiber optics and a ramp meter station, will also be added as part of the project, according to the release. These improvements will help the flow of traffic by monitoring, triggering and timing vehicle release using automatic vehicle and queue detection, mitigating traffic backups by adjusting the timing of the meters, officials said.

Colorado Department of Transportation officials estimate the project will be completed in November 2025.

For more information, visit the project website at codot.gov/projects/i25gogfillmorelanes.