A construction project at the intersection of U.S. 285 and U.S. 50 in Poncha Springs will be delayed after a design mistake from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
“We had already installed center medians, raised center medians, and the new light signal, and discovered that the big rigs were having trouble negotiating a left hand turn off of U.S. 50 heading north on 285,” said Lisa Schwantes, a CDOT spokesperson.
Schwantes said CDOT will go back and redesign the median to safely accommodate large vehicles. She said it will add a few weeks to the project timeline, and will ultimately cost more than originally anticipated.
Originally, CDOT said the project would cost $7.1 million and be complete by October 1. Schwantes did not yet have an updated figure for the cost.
“We don’t ever want to have to go back to the drawing board with a design,” Schwantes said. “You know, mistakes happen, there’s human error.”
The construction aims to create a safer intersection by reducing the sharp turn radius that currently exists. It aligns nearby Kimberlin Lane with U.S. 285 to turn the existing three-way interchange into a four-way intersection with new traffic signals and lengthened turn lanes.
The project also involves repaving approximately seven miles of U.S. 50 from the intersection toward Monarch Pass. Schwantes said the mistake won’t impact the timeframe for the repaving work, which is scheduled to be complete in the fall.
“There’s just been an increase in the volume of traffic in this area,” Schwantes said. “The uninterrupted flow of traffic that can occur with the additional lanes and an improved light signal will help.”
