The Ridge at Fox Run

Expansion of Powers Boulevard

Powers meets I-25 at Interquest

This article if from the July 22, 2000 issue of The Gazette

Powers getting I-25 connection7

By Pam Zubeck/The Gazette
Edited by Bill Vogrin; headline by Joel Millman/The Gazette

Powers Boulevard - the divided north-south artery on the Springs' eastern edge - is finally going to connect to Interstate 25.

Construction begins Aug. 1 on a four-lane road that will connect south
Powers to I-25 near Fountain.

The $3.4 million project will hasten the trip to Colorado Springs Airport,
Sky Sox Stadium and fast-growing eastside neighborhoods.

In fact, it will provide a critical link in shaping Powers into an eastern
freeway bypass allowing motorists to avoid the interstate as it snakes
through downtown.

Motorists destined for the eastside of the Springs now use U.S. 24 bypass
or city routes.

"This will relieve an awful lot of traffic pressure on I-25 and through
town," said Andre Brackin, a county engineer. "It's absolutely crucial."

Powers is capable of handling thousands of vehicles that now use
I-25. By 2020, state engineers estimate the new leg could carry
8,800 vehicles per day. But county officials are convinced the leg will carry many more cars, and much sooner.

Currently, Powers ends at Fountaine Boulevard on the south.

When the road is completed later this year, vehicles can take the State Highway 16 exit off I-25 and travel Mesa
Ridge Parkway to the new segment of Powers and then
go north all the way to Woodmen Road.

The project includes a new asphalt overlay for Mesa
Ridge and three traffic signals - on Mesa Ridge, one at
Fountain Mesa and another at Fontaine.

That the new expressway will lie within several hundred
feet of homes drew criticism from some residents who
complained of potential traffic noise.

Brackin said a noise analysis led engineers to plan
six-foot-high berms on the road's shoulders to mask the
road's noise and view.

"Unless you're up looking down, you probably won't see
the cars," he said.

The south Powers project is part of a plan to make
Powers into a state highway. In a road swap approved
last year, the city agreed to take over some state
highways within the city, such as Nevada Avenue and
Academy Boulevard. In exchange, the state assumed
responsibility for Powers.

The county's project closes the loop on the south with
I-25.

On the north, Powers deadends at Woodmen, but not
for long.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is erecting a
bridge over Cottonwood Creek north of Woodmen, and a
developer is building a one-mile stretch from Woodmen
to Research Parkway. It will open this fall.

Another developer will build a one-mile stretch from
Research to Briargate Parkway, which is expected to be
done by fall 2001.

The state then will extend Powers three miles from
Briargate to State Highway 83 by 2004.

From there, motorists will take a short jog south to
connect with Interquest Parkway, which leads to I-25.
The state's share is $30 million.

Besides the north and south extensions, the state also
will build interchanges on Powers.

Work is under way at Platte, and a Woodmen
interchange also is planned. Others will be built at
Research, Briargate, Old Ranch Road, Highway 83 and
Voyager Parkway.

The locations for several intersections between
Woodmen and Drennan Road have not been chosen,
said Andy Garton, the state's Powers corridor manager.

The ultimate goal is to make Powers loop from I-25
north of Interquest Interchange to I-25 near the Pikes
Peak International Raceway.

But Garton said those projects will span decades.

"The final build-out of the entire corridor is an extended
program," Garton said. "Anything beyond the five-year
plan is a broad stroke."

The County Commission this week awarded the south
project's contract to R.E. Monks Construction Co. of
Black Forest. It's being funded with $650,000 from the
county's road and bridge fund and federal money
administered by the state.