EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Exiting the Manitou Cliff Dwellings can be a potentially dangerous situation for drivers turning right to merge onto westbound US 24, or crossing speeding lanes of traffic to turn left and travel eastbound.
To increase safety, a project by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) started Tuesday to build a dedicated right turn lane protected by a concrete island at the intersection of US 24 and Cliff Road.
CDOT was unavailable Thursday to comment on whether previous crashes, or near-crashes, are the driving force behind the project.
Construction will occur during overnight hours Sunday through Thursday, with a closure of the intersection and the right westbound lane at that point.
The project is scheduled for completion next month.
The US 24/Cliff Road project is the last of four projects that started last November as part of CDOT’s US 24 Intersection Improvements Project; the agency also took measures to improve pedestrian safety at the US 24 (Cimarron Street) intersections of 8th, 21st and 31st streets.