COLORADO SPRINGS – Police have shut down all southbound lanes of Powers Boulevard from Woodmen Road to North Carefree Circle due to downed power lines blocking lanes.
Just after 3:30 p.m., CSPD said southbound lanes of Powers Boulevard from Dublin to Stetson Hills Boulevard will be closed overnight as Colorado Springs Utilities finishes repairs. Utilities has estimated repairs may take until 3 – 4 a.m. Thursday morning.
UPDATE: @CSUtilities is estimating that repairs to damaged power poles and downed power lines may take until 3-4 AM, depending on the wind, so SB Powers will remain closed overnight from Dublin Blvd. to Stetson Hills Blvd. Please take an alternate route. pic.twitter.com/Mn7xwoMxH2
— Springs Police (@CSPDPIO) February 13, 2019
CSU tweeted that during high winds, you may see limited activity because crews cannot safely repair poles and lines until conditions improve. The high wind warning is in effect until 8 p.m.
Photos from the scene show at least five power poles either downed or bent. The poles are visible in the furthest right lane. All lanes of eastbound and westbound Stetson Hills Boulevard are also shut down.
Drivers should treat all darkened intersections as 4-way stops. Drivers should take Marksheffel Road or Austin Bluffs Blvd. as alternate routes in the area.
Colorado Springs Utilities reported all power has been restored as of 1:30 p.m. CSU is still making repairs to downed lines so traffic is still impacted.
Colorado Springs is under a red flag warning due in part to high winds and dry conditions in the area. Luckily, no fire started after the poles came in contact with the ground.
Colorado Springs School District 11 announced on Twitter that two schools, Martinez and Rudy Elementary, located in the power outage zone along Barnes Rd. and Rangewood Dr. will release students at 1:30 p.m. and bused students will be picked up at that time due to the power outages.
Vista Grande Baptist Church also announced that it will be closed for the rest of the day due to the outage.
