I-25 SB exit to get ‘out of the loop’ in mid-May

A crew with project contractor Kraemer/TSH works on the supports for the future southbound bridge at the Cimmaron/I-25 interchange. The view is to the northeast. Behind them, cars travel on the existing I-25 bridges over Cimarron. In the farther background is the Colorado Springs downtown. The $113 million interchange-replacement project started a year ago and is due for completion in late 2017. Westside Pioneer photo        A new southbound off-ramp alignment is scheduled to open in mid-May at the Cimarron/I-25 interchange as part of the continuing $113 million replacement project.        Instead of the loop layout built in 1960, the new exit ramp will go straight to the north side of Cimarron Street/Highway 24, according to project plans by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and contractor Kraemer/TSH.        “The partial cloverleaf loop ramp design is outdated and does not adequately support the 9,500 vehicles per hour that travel through the I-25/Cimarron corridor during peak times each day,” states a CDOT press release.        The initial off-ramp will not be final. The ultimate version will be built right next to it, but the loop had to be removed at this juncture.        Also planned through June (and continuing into the winter) will be various overnight lane restrictions and traffic realignments, including occasional overnight closures for southbound I-25 between the Bijou and Nevada/Tejon interchanges on I-25, as construction continues on the new southbound I-25 bridge and the Cimarron bridge over Fountain Creek. Westside Pioneer article