Woodmen Road—Corridor Improvement Projects

Phase 1 Complete

Phase 1 of the City of Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority’s portion of the Woodmen Road Corridor Improvement project is complete. The Phase 1 project widened Woodmen Road from two lanes to three continuous lanes in each direction from I-25 to the east edge of the Woodmen Commons shopping center, near Sam’s Club. It included the replacement of the existing Woodmen Road/Academy Boulevard Intersection with a grade-separated interchange. After a thorough Environmental document and design analysis, the City of Colorado Springs found the single point urban interchange (SPUI) solution to be the best value for the City and the traveling public. These improvements have significantly reduced the delays and congestion at the Woodmen/Academy intersection for both the east-west and north-south movements.

In addition to improving the vehicular mobility along the Woodmen Road corridor and through the intersection, Phase 1 included east-west bike lanes and sidewalks. These improvements are enhanced with the aesthetics features and landscaping that was developed by the corridor landscape aesthetics committee. This committee was comprised of the City, their design team, and area neighborhood and business representatives who met to discuss and select the desired look and feel of the entire corridor from I-25 to Powers Boulevard. The committee organized a plan utilizing a form and function that would reduce water and maintenance requirements but maintain a highly classic look. The implementation and construction of Phase 1 was a success for the City of Colorado Springs. The bulleted items below summarize many of the accomplishments as well as provide some interesting construction facts about the project.

Summary of Accomplishments

Substantial completion achieved 34 days ahead of the original schedule
Successful working relationship with the funding and oversight partners of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority (PPRTA), and City of Colorado Springs
Project finished within budget
Night work was limited to 120 out of the planned 150 nights
Four Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) visits with no citations
Effectively managed traffic throughout the project. Based on the average of four mid-week traffic counts taken throughout the project, in excess of 43,250,000 cars passed through the project
Successful re-alignment and shut-down of 42" waterline distribution system which services approximately one-third of the City of Colorado Springs. Actual water line shutdown was completed in 96 hours instead of anticipated 120 hours
Completed the planned two week shutdown of access between Academy and Woodmen for final ramp construction traffic following traffic moved onto new bridge ahead of schedule by 2 days. This portion of the project was one of the most difficult issues to manage and construct. Also added work during this phase to minimize future disruption of traffic.
Successful public involvement effort led to a positive working relationship with Woodmen Enhancement Committee, Falcon, Columbine, Brookwood, and Yorkshire Estates, and over 250 businesses in the immediate vicinity. Effort included but was not limited to 10 free barbecues, weekly 7-day schedule outlook emails, numerous Scheduling, Information, Traffic, Exchange (SITE) discussions with the business group, and estimated in excess of 10,000 various contacts within the community.

Approximate Summary of Materials Used

165,000 SY of Asphalt (enough to cover 25.5 football fields)
19,500 CY of Cast-in-Place Concrete (enough to fill 6 Olympic Size Swimming Pools)
12,000 LF of Storm Drain Pipe (approximately 2.25 miles)
38,400 LF of Curb Gutter (approximately 7.25 miles)
Over 1,000,000 LBS of Rebar
Low maintenance landscaping including 300 Trees, 3400 shrubs or vines, 1700 grasses, and 130,000 SF of mulch