Road closure starts Monday as Colorado Springs brings down old Circle Drive bridge
Colorado Springs is closing a stretch of East Las Vegas Street for three weeks while construction crews tear down the old bridge on Circle Drive that passes overhead.
The road will be closed beginning on Jan. 26 between Janitell Road and U.S. Highway 85, the city announced Thursday. Traffic detours will be set up west of the closure using Janitell and Venetucci Boulevard.
The closure and deconstruction are part of the final phase of the multi-year Circle Drive Bridges project to replace the overpass bridges that cross that area of southeast Colorado Springs.
Ryan Phipps, city engineer and capital improvements manager, said the bridges were identified for replacement rather than rehabilitation because they were approximately 60 years old. Nearby residents and students at Harrison High School wanted to see sidewalks added along the span.
“It’s very exciting for this area of the city to finally get those structures replaced. It has been identified by the community as a need and a desire for years,” Phipps said.
The $40 million construction project is being funded by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority’s sales tax.
The first phase of construction in 2024 included building the new eastbound bridge and demolishing the original westbound bridge. Phase two, which concluded near the end of last year, moved traffic onto the new span while the westbound bridge for Circle Drive was built.
Demolition of the old eastbound bridge is one of the final steps of the project. Phipps said that once the demolition near Las Vegas Street is completed, a similar closure will take place near Hancock Expressway around the beginning of March to bring down the other end of the bridge.
“The four bridges there are all in the top 10 longest structures in the city, so it’s a pretty substantial project,” Phipps said.
The final steps of the project will include boring underground for a water line near the north end of the new bridges and replacing vegetation along the road. The Pikes Peak Greenway Trail will remain closed in the area until work is finished later this year.