Ongoing construction on South Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs will bring lane reductions and several overnight closures starting Thursday, Sept. 4. The work is part of the Military Access, Mobility & Safety Improvement Program (MAMSIP), which aims to improve traffic flow and safety along key transportation corridors in El Paso County.
Lane reductions between Venetucci Boulevard and Coventry Drive are set to remain in place through September 2025. Crews will install new traffic signals and islands during this period. Northbound South Academy Boulevard’s two left turn lanes for the I-25 northbound on-ramp will be reduced to one, with other auxiliary lanes and shoulders also affected. Two thru lanes will remain open in both directions.
Motorists should expect delays, especially during peak hours, and are advised to allow extra time, maintain safe distances, and merge early when approaching work zones. Drivers accessing I-25 northbound should move to the center lane well ahead of time.
Several overnight full closures are scheduled:
– Northbound South Academy Boulevard under I-25 will close Tuesday, Sept. 2 from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., with a detour via southbound I-25 to Mesa Ridge Parkway (exit 132A) before rejoining northbound routes.
– Additional closures of northbound South Academy between US 85/87 and Milton Proby Parkway are planned for Tuesday, Sept. 2; Friday, Sept. 5; and Saturday, Sept. 6 from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., using local roads as detours.
– Closures between I-25 and US Highway 85/87 will occur Wednesday, Sept. 3 and Thursday, Sept. 4 during the same overnight hours.
Southbound I-25 at South Academy Boulevard will see alternating lane closures on Tuesday night for concrete grinding.
The project also includes an ongoing shift of east- and westbound South Academy Boulevard between I-25 and Fountain Creek toward the center so crews can work on outside lanes—a change expected until September next year.
Drivers should use caution due to narrowed lanes across the southbound bridge over US Highway 85/87 while bridgework continues. There is also a shift of the northbound I-25 off-ramp onto a new alignment with a shorter acceleration lane; all entrance ramps now have shortened merge lengths.
These schedules depend on weather conditions and may change without notice.
Work will pause at noon Friday through Monday in recognition of Labor Day weekend.
The current phase widens about one-and-a-half miles of South Academy Boulevard from two lanes each way to three in each direction between the I-25 interchange past US Highway 85/87 up toward Milton Proby Parkway (which connects with Powers Boulevard/CO21). Improvements include drainage upgrades, lighting enhancements, striping updates, expanded shoulders, modified merge lanes, sound walls, and bridge repairs or replacements. The project is managed by El Paso County with completion expected by early 2026.
A safety assessment by CDOT found recurring crash problems along this corridor; these improvements aim to reduce crashes by addressing physical deficiencies that contribute to them over time.
“CDOT conducted a safety assessment for the corridor to evaluate the magnitude and nature of safety problems and analyze the causes of crashes,” according to officials involved in planning efforts for this stretch of roadwork projects underway throughout El Paso County’s military access points into downtown Colorado Springs proper—specifically those leading directly onto main thoroughfares such as Interstate highways like Route One Twenty-Five or smaller connector streets including Charter Oak Ranch Road near Fort Carson Army Base facilities located just southward beyond city limits themselves…
These measures form part of broader efforts under MAMSIP—a program funded partly through an $18 million BUILD grant from the U.S Department Of Transportation—to strengthen strategic movement among major military installations including Fort Carson Army Base itself alongside Peterson Space Force Base nearby Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station plus Schriever Space Force Base further eastward out towards rural areas bordering metropolitan regions served daily via regular commuter patterns throughout greater southeastern Colorado counties overall (see https://www.codot.gov/projects/militaryaccesssafetyimprovements).
For more information or updates about upcoming changes related specifically either directly impacting your own commute plans—or affecting others within shared travel networks locally—visit codot.gov/projects/militaryaccesssafetyimprovements or register for alerts by texting MAMSIP to 888-970-9665.
