S. Nevada - Ivywild Transportation Improvements

Complete

About the Project

Located south of downtown Colorado Springs along Cheyenne Creek, Ivywild is one of the city’s oldest working-class neighborhoods. Multi-use commercial development has flourished over the past ten years with the Ivywild School community center and other adjacent businesses. The project is also close by the S. Nevada Economic Opportunity Zone where mixed-use commercial and residential redevelopment is underway as part of S. Nevada Urban Renewal. The City of Colorado Springs initiated a series of transportation improvements projects in the S. Nevada Ave. and Ivywild areas in 2019.
  • S. Nevada Improvements (Left-Turn Lanes and Signal Light):  Summer 2019
  • S. Tejon Roundabout: July 2019–April 2020
  • S. Cascade over Cheyenne Run Bridge Replacement: April 2020–Late Summer 2020
  • S. Cascade/S. Tejon  Pre-Overlay Concrete/Asphalt Overlay: December 2020

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Contact Information

To receive project progress enewsletters, send an email to Carolyn@bachmanpr.com requesting to be added to the notification list.

S. Nevada Improvements

 
Construction: June-August 2019 (complete)

Funding: Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority

This project rebuilt the median in Nevada Avenue between Navajo Street and Ramona Avenue to create left-turn lanes to Navajo Street and the shopping center on the west side of Nevada. The rebuilt segment of Nevada Avenue now includes a traffic signal mid-block between Navajo Street and Ramona Avenue.

Project Benefits

  • Improved traffic flow on Nevada Avenue
  • Improved access to businesses along that stretch of Nevada Avenue

Project Contacts

S. Tejon Roundabout

About the Project

South Tejon Roundabout Project – completed April, 2020

Construction of the roundabout was completed at the intersection of South Tejon Street, Cascade Avenue, Ramona Avenue, and Cheyenne Boulevard. The modern roundabout is designed to improve safety, capacity and traffic flow. It improves traffic operations and enhances the sense of community in compliance with the Ivywild Neighborhood Master PlanA plan for the development of a portion of the city that contains proposed land uses, a generalized transportation system, and the relationship of the area included in the plan to surrounding property. and the historic character of the neighborhood.

The existing intersection of South Tejon Street, Cascade Avenue, Ramona Avenue, and Cheyenne Boulevard currently includes five approaches to a single point. To improve safety, capacity and traffic flow, the City of Colorado Springs is reconstructing the intersection as a modern roundabout. The modern roundabout solution at this signalized intersection will improve operations, reduce travel delay, reduce long-term maintenance costs with the removal of the traffic signal, and carry bicyclists and pedestrians fully through all legs of the intersection. It will also improve traffic operations and enhance the sense of community in compliance with the Ivywild Neighborhood Master Plan and the historic character of the neighborhood.

The angles of the existing approaches are difficult for motorists to negotiate.  The angle of each approach creates poor sight distance and makes it more difficult for people traveling through the intersection to follow wayfinding signage or know what direction to take to negate to their destination.  As a result, the intersection creates considerable delay even in the absence of significant traffic volumes.  A secondary consequence is that local drivers avoid the intersection by cutting through nearby neighborhood streets, creating other local traffic conflicts and neighborhood concerns.

Design of the roundabout project occurred in 2014/15 as a community-building, collaborative process with the Ivywild School redevelopment area and the adjacent neighborhood.

Project Benefits

  • Improved intersection operation and public safety during peak and off-peak hours
  • Safer passage for bicyclists and pedestrians
  • Promote air quality by improved traffic circulation
  • Reduce maintenance costs
  • Implement elements of PlanCOS (City of Colorado Springs Comprehensive PlanA comprehensive plan is a guiding document that provides a framework for city policies and priorities regarding the physical development of the city. It is a long-range vision of what we want our city to become and is a tool for making decisions about how that vision should be achieved. It outlines strategic steps to make the vision a reality and provides targeted and strategic planning of the physical development of the city.)
  • Stimulate economic vitality within nearby Urban Renewal Areas and Neighborhood Strategy Area
  • Streetscape enhancements for improved neighborhood appearance

Project Contacts

Project Boards

Cascade Ave. Bridge Replacement

Construction start: May 2020
Anticipated completion: December 2020

Funding: City General Fund

Originally constructed in 1925, the Cascade Avenue Bridge over Cheyenne Creek in the Ivywild neighborhood has exceeded its design life and is functionally obsolete. Although not structurally deficient, the bridge does not functionally convey motorized or non-motorized traffic safely. The roadway and bridge are not wide enough to accommodate the types of vehicles and traffic it’s expected to carry with today’s criteria. The City of Colorado Springs is replacing the bridge with a similar structure (concrete arch) that will be wide enough to accommodate the current functional needs and provide a crossing of Cheyenne Creek for the next 100 years.

As part of the project, South Cascade Avenue has converted to one-way southbound between Brookside Street to the roundabout. 

Project Benefits

  • Wider bridge to accommodate additional motorized and non-motorized traffic in the area
  • Additional on street parking along South Cascade Avenue to help move parking out of the neighborhood residential streets
  • Connected and continuous sidewalks for pedestrian safety
  • Reduce maintenance costs
  • Supports PlanCOS (City of Colorado Springs Comprehensive Plan)
  • Stimulate economic vitality within nearby Urban Renewal Areas and Neighborhood Strategy Area
  • Supports City Strategic Plan Goals: promoting job creation, investing in infrastructure, and building community & collaborative relationships

The project includes

  • Demolish and remove the nearly 95-year-old functionally obsolete bridge structure
  • Construct a new, wider bridge to accommodate vehicular traffic, on street parking and sidewalks
  • Widening Cascade Avenue bridge approach
  • Improved drainage
  • Accommodations for pedestrians
  • Additional diagonal parking along South Cascade Avenue
  • During construction, the roundabout work will be phased to allow both northbound and southbound access to the properties on South Cascade Avenue between Cheyenne Boulevard and the bridge replacement project

Project Contacts

South Tejon & Cascade 2C 

Construction start: 2020

Funding:  2C

Upon completion of the S. Tejon St. Roundabout and S. Cascade Ave. over Cheyenne Run Bridge replacement, Pre-Overlay Concrete/Asphalt Overlay was completed along:

  • South Tejon St. (from South Cascade Avenue to Motor Way)
  • South Cascade Ave. (from Cheyenne Boulevard at the new roundabout to Brookside Street)

Project Contacts


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