Heed the “watch for falling rock” signs

March 8, 2010 By

What are the odds that rocks actually fall on you when you’re driving through the Colorado mountains and see dozens of “watch for falling rock” signs? Probably pretty slim; however, after the major rockslide on Interstate 70 this morning (near Glenwood Canyon), it will probably be awhile before you scoff at those warnings again:


Photo credit: Colorado DOT. More rockslide pics via TwitPic

Thanks to local tweeter QualityFrog for the link to the pics.

Woodmen and Academy Construction Update: week of October 26

October 27, 2009 By

Academy and Woodmen intersection - sign advertising construction updates at www.woodmenroad.com

Here’s the major events that will be taking place in the Woodmen and Academy interchange construction project this week, via WoodmenRoad.com:

Preparatory work for the opening of Prince Drive at Woodmen Road

  • York Road closed at Earl Drive when Prince Drive opens
  • Prince Drive opening scheduled for November 2, 2009
  • NO ACCESS to ACADEMY BLVD. from Prince Drive

Traffic Changes

  • Traffic alignment changes on northbound and southbound Academy Blvd. from Shrider Road to York Road.  Temporary alignments will maintain three through lanes and two left turn lanes to Woodmen Road

The project is scheduled to be completed in two years.

Academy and Woodmen Interchange Update: construction schedule through 10/24

October 20, 2009 By

Academy and Woodmen intersection - looking northwest from the east side of the intersection
The Academy and Woodmen interchange construction project continues. Here’s the major points of the 7-day outlook for this week (through October 24th):

  • Removal of Einstein Bagels and Albertacos Building
  • Removal of medians along Academy
  • Alignment changes:
    • Continued temporary alignment changes for east bound and westbound Woodmen between Academy and the eastern Sam’s Club entrance.  Entrances to Woodmen Commons Shopping Center remain open and there will continue to be two lanes on both eastbound and westbound Woodmen Road.
    • Temporary alignment change from Shrider Road to Woodmen on Academy Blvd.  Three travel lanes on Northbound and Southbound Academy will be maintained
    • Temporary alignment change from Woodmen Road to York Road on Academy Blvd.  Three travel lanes on Northbound and Southbound Academy will be maintained.

You can view the complete schedule at WoodmenRoad.com.

Two years to fewer headaches at Academy and Woodmen

October 3, 2009 By


View Woodmen Corridor Improvement Project in a larger map

The big Woodmen Road Corridor Improvement construction project has started to ramp up.  The project will widen Woodmen Road to six lanes from Interstate 25 to Stinson (see map above). The project is optimistically scheduled to be finished in September 2011 – originally it had been estimated to take about 2 years and 9 months, but the city and contractor are now promising it will be completed in just two years.

Academy and Woodmen intersection - looking southwest from the east side of the intersection

The first part of Phase One started September 30th and is expected to be completed by April 2010.  It includes the following projects:

  • Realign 30-inch sanitary sewer at Cottonwood Creek.
  • Install 66-inch storm drain pipe and construct outfall structure beginning at Cottonwood Creek.
  • Relocate existing utilities (throughout project area)
  • Excavate and move material from north side to south side of Woodmen between Campus Drive to Current access entrance. Remove median concrete.
  • Grade and pave the anticipated temporary alignment through former Shell station area
  • Install portion of 42-inch water line under anticipated Woodmen Road detour
  • Construct retaining wall at Wag ’n Wash/Home Depot entrance
  • Construct concrete fence at Bell Drive
  • Construct retaining wall on Woodmen Road east of Academy Boulevard
  • Install storm drain on Prince Drive
  • Reconstruct detention pond on Current property

Academy and Woodmen intersection - sign advertising construction updates at www.woodmenroad.com
There are construction updates, a 7-day outlook, maps of the planned phases, progress photos, and more at WoodmenRoad.com
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What’s the traffic like in Colorado Springs?

September 24, 2009 By

Well, according to INRIX, a traffic-data firm, it’s bad enough to land it on the list of “Top 100 Cities with the Worst Traffic”, but just barely – in 2009, Colorado Springs ranked 91st.  It’s up a little bit from 2008 – we were ranked 93 then – but down from 2007 in which we ranked 76 on the list.

Colorado Springs traffic cameras

Anyone who’s ever lived in a larger city and then moved to Colorado Springs is likely to say traffic is a non-issue – of course, roads are busy during morning and afternoon rush hours, but it’s pretty rare to be at a stand-still unless there’s an accident or road construction.  (You could, of course, argue that there’s always road construction, but isn’t there everywhere?)  The biggest complaint among local drivers is the lack of efficient east/west thoroughfares.

You can easily check traffic conditions in Colorado Springs with the city’s traffic camera map.  It amplifies the lack of major east/west roads – there are only a handful of cameras off of north/south running Interstate 25 and Academy.

Relatedly, the average commuting time in Colorado Springs is 20.6 minutes according to the US Census Bureau. For comparison, Denverites have an average commute of 23.7 minutes.

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