COLORADO SPRINGS — The combination of speeding and a narrow construction zone is prompting concerns from some residents who live off Marksheffel Road in the Enclaves at Mountain Vista neighborhood in east Colorado Springs.
The goal of the multi-year project is to expand Marksheffel Road to two lanes in each direction with a center median, improved drainage, a new sidewalk on the west side, and a shared-use path on the east side. Some residents living nearby said the construction zone is causing safety concerns for the neighborhood, which has an egress in the middle of the construction zone.
"It's just not well laid out," said Robbi Dyster, who lives with her family in the Enclaves Mountain Vista neighborhood. "When people drive aggressively and speed and are angry, especially during rush hour, it just makes it 10 times worse."
Some residents said the construction zone is too narrow and has a tricky configuration. On Tuesday, one woman reached out to News5 in an email, sharing her concern that the zone consists of "extremely tight lanes, concrete barriers, and people who consistently speed through the area."
Tom Tennant lives in the same neighborhood and said he is concerned about large trucks making it through the construction zone and drivers constantly speeding through the zone, which has a reduced speed limit of 35 miles per hour.
"That layout is one of the craziest layouts I've ever seen. It was almost like riding on a roller coaster going through it," he said.
Some of the neighbors' fears became a reality when a 75-year-old woman was killed going through the construction zone on Sunday afternoon. Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said just before 2 p.m. the woman was hit head-on by another driver who had struck a barrier in the construction zone near North Carefree Circle. The El Paso County Coroner identified the woman who died as 75-year-old Noi Barrow. CSP said alcohol, drugs, and speed were not considered factors in the crash.
News5 reached out to Kraemer North America (KNA), the company contracted for the project, to ask if any changes to the construction zone are being considered and what requirements and safety protocols the company has to follow when setting up construction zones. At the time this article was published we have not heard back from the company.
A spokesperson for Colorado State Patrol said troopers can actively patrol around construction zones but may be pulled away at any time for another call for service. CSP said the number of active patrol units around construction zones depends on their call volume and the number of troopers available.
When asked if the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) makes an effort to crack down on speeding in construction zones, a spokesperson for the department sent News5 the following response:
I can tell you speeding is a concern for CSPD across the city and in trouble spots such as construction and school zones. Wherever we see an increase in dangerous driving behavior, we work to respond with increased enforcement as our resources allow. So far this year, we have had 31 traffic fatalities in Colorado Springs, which is five more than we had at this time last year. We know speed is a significant contributing factor to traffic fatalities. We encourage every driver to pay attention to posted speed limits and to slow down in construction zones to protect construction workers, community members, and other drivers. We prefer drivers make the choice to slow down on their own rather than having to issue them tickets to try and encourage safer driving behavior.
The department also said patrolling the specific construction zone on Marksheffel Road is challenging because the road is split between CSPD, El Paso County Sheriff's Office, and Colorado State Patrol jurisdictions.
CSPD said there have been 31 traffic fatalities so far this year, which is five more than this time last year. Data from CSPD shows there were 158 construction zone crashes in 2022 and 231 crashes in 2023. As of July 20, there have been 164 crashes in construction zones around the city in 2024.
News5 also reached out to the City of Colorado Springs to ask if the city is considering any changes to the Marksheffel Road construction zone after Sunday's fatal crash. A spokesperson for the city said they could not comment because of the active investigation of the fatal crash and directed our question back to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
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