Update: 'Intermittent' Mesa Road detour in overnight 30th St. paving July 10-14

Update: 'Intermittent' Mesa Road detour in overnight 30th St. paving July 10-14

In a photo from June 2015, looking down from the overlook off Mesa Road, a city street crew paves parts of 30th Street north of Gateway Road (seen in background, with the Rock Ledge Ranch parking lot beyond). A flagger is temporarily stopping northbound traffic. For the upcoming patch-paving job, the city says that 30th Street is to be closed completely the nights of July 10-14 from south of Gateway Road to north of Mesa Road.

Westside Pioneer file photo

Update, July 7: The city this morning announced a change to the five-mile detour plan it had announced the day before (as reported below). Mesa Road will be made accessible, shortening the detour for through traffic by about half. However, this access will be "intermittent," a city spokesperson later clarified.

       Barring last-minute changes, a major overnight detour awaits motorists taking 30th Street between Fontanero Street and Garden of the Gods Road Monday to Friday, July 10-14 .
       A Colorado Springs Streets paving crew plans to close the heavily used two-lane thoroughfare in both directions between 8:30 p.m. and 7 a.m. each of those days from south of Gateway Road to north of Mesa Road, city spokesperson Kim Melchor explained.
       [CHANGED JULY 7; SEE DETOUR UPDATE ABOVE] The nearest alternative route in either direction will require the use of Fontanero/Fontmore/Fillmore Street, Centennial Boulevard and Garden of the Gods Road - taking drivers more than five miles out of their way.
       Melchor said detour signs will be posted.
       As of July 6, City Streets' only notifications about the project were flashing signs for drivers on 30th. Through “administrative error,” Melchor said, the project had not been mentioned previously in the weekly roadwork report that the city sends out nor on its “cone zones” website. However, she said she planned to take steps starting July 7 to notify the public in multiple ways.
       Melchor clarified that the roadwork will not overlay 30th between Gateway and Mesa, but will patch places in that segment that were not addressed the last time paving work was done there. That was two years ago, according to Westside Pioneer records.
       The project is unrelated to the city's long-range plans for a full reconstruction of 30th Street, which is in the early stages of a contracted study.

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 7/6/17; Transportation: Major Roads)

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