Overnight lane and full road closures are scheduled for South Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs during the week of August 24, 2025, as part of ongoing construction work. The closures will affect northbound lanes between Venetucci Boulevard and Interstate 25 on Sunday night for asphalt paving. Several ramps, including those from Pikes Peak State College parking lot B and from northbound South Academy to southbound I-25, will also be closed with detours provided.
Additional overnight full closures will take place between I-25 and US Highway 85/87 on Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights for milling and paving operations. Northbound traffic will be rerouted via I-25, Mesa Ridge Parkway, US 85/87, Fontaine Boulevard, Grinnell Boulevard, Bradley Road, and back onto South Academy.
Closures under I-25 are planned for Monday and Tuesday nights to allow new asphalt paving. Detours will send northbound drivers onto southbound I-25 before looping back to their destination via Mesa Ridge Parkway and Mile Point 135.
There will also be full closures between US 85/87 and Milton Proby Parkway on Monday and Tuesday nights for road milling. Traffic will follow a detour through US 85/87, Fontaine Boulevard, Grinnell Boulevard, Bradley Road, Hancock Expressway, Milton Proby Parkway, then return to South Academy.
A right lane closure is scheduled on the southbound I-25 off-ramp at South Academy Boulevard on Monday morning for electrical work. Bradley Road under the South Academy bridge will have alternating one-lane traffic with flaggers from Monday through Friday during daytime hours for slope paving.
A shift moving east- and westbound lanes of South Academy between I-25 and Fountain Creek toward the center remains in effect until September 2025 so crews can work on outside lanes. Work is set to pause at noon Friday through Labor Day weekend in observance of the holiday.
Drivers are advised that narrowed lanes continue across the southbound bridge over US 85/87 due to ongoing bridgework. A new alignment is also in place for the northbound I-25 off-ramp to northbound South Academy with a short acceleration lane. Merge lengths at entrance ramps have been shortened; a new on-ramp from US 85/87 onto South Academy has opened.
All closures depend on weather conditions.
The project widens about 1.5 miles of South Academy Boulevard from two lanes to three each way between the I-25 interchange and Milton Proby Parkway (connecting with Powers Boulevard/CO 21). It includes drainage improvements, lighting upgrades, expanded shoulders, modified merge lanes, sound walls and bridgework. El Paso County manages this project with completion expected by early 2026.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) conducted a safety assessment along this corridor to address crash causes by improving infrastructure deficiencies such as narrow shoulders or inadequate merge zones. These measures aim to reduce deaths and injuries over the next two decades along four corridors included in the Military Access, Mobility & Safety Improvement Program (MAMSIP).
CDOT’s broader MAMSIP effort covers improvements along I-25, Colorado Highway 94, Charter Oak Ranch Road as well as South Academy Boulevard itself. The program is partly funded by an $18 million BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/programs-services/build-grants). The initiative aims to enhance mobility near major military installations including Fort Carson; Peterson Space Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station; and Schriever Space Force Base while supporting economic stability in El Paso County.
For more information about current projects or updates: codot.gov/projects/militaryaccesssafetyimprovements
Contact: [email protected] | Hotline: 719-800-2162 | Alerts: Text MAMSIP to 888-970-9665
