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Mystery of the Missing Lanes on Woodmen Road Answered

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 December 2005, 09:00 CST

Puzzled about something in our area? "Did You Ever Wonder?" is here to help. Send your questions to the address below.

QUESTION: Do you know why the city/county/state replaced a two- lane road with another twolane road on Woodmen Road east of Powers Boulevard? When they were building it I thought we would get four lanes to and from Falcon, but no. Traffic out there is horrible! Phil Kiemel

A number of readers have e-mailed their concerns about the missing two lanes and, like Wade Brooks, wondered if it had been "placed on hold or completely abandoned?"

What you're seeing is just the beginning of the four-lane project. It started with county safety improvements, including signals at several intersections. Then the county built two lanes parallel to the old lanes, which have been turned into a front- age road. That seems to have been the easy part of the project.

Now about those other two new lanes. The county is waiting for the Federal Highway Administration's environmental assessment. Why all the red tape? Andre Brackin, capital projects manager for the county transportation department, explained that when lanes are added to a highway corridor they are called a "capacity improvement" and require an extensive environmental process before federal funding is made available.

If the environmental clearance is completed in the next few months, work on the other two lanes could begin by summer. When the report is completed, it will be posted on the county and city Web sites for public examination, a 30-day process, after which the the county can bid out the work.

Brackin, who drives this road daily, says the project will be "impressive" when it's completed all the way to U.S. Highway 24. There also will be a bike lane and trail along the frontage road and a new bridge over Sand Creek. You can chart the county's part of the project at: adm.elpasoco.com/Transprt/Woodmen _road/default.asp.

QUESTION: I can't believe they don't have leftturn arrows at the intersection of Pikes Peak and Nevada avenues. Is there any hope of having them installed in the future? Sally Pearce

The folks with the answers are in city traffic engineering, 385- 5966.

BLACK CAT: I just wanted to post an apology for a black cat that was run over on Saturday night, Nov. 19. Some things just can't be averted. J.

So for anyone who wondered what happened to their kittie, here's an apology.

CONTACT THE WRITER: Send questions to Linda Navarro at Lnavarro@gazette.com with "Column Question" in the subject line; mail to "Did You Ever Wonder?," P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs 80901. No personal replies; because of limited space, not all questions will be answered.

Source: Gazette, The; Colorado Springs, Colo.

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