EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Crews that are building a pair of roundabouts between US 24 and Peterson Space Force’s north gate will spend the second federal holiday in the past month working on the project.
Southbound Peterson Road, between the highway and the gate, will be closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday; the same road was also closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
A roundabout will eventually be on each side of the highway, as part of a $15 million project to improve traffic flow into, out of, and around the installation.
Construction was supposed to start last May, but began last month, as officials awaited final approval of the funding.
Other expected benefits of the project are improved access for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit buses.
The construction also coincides with Peterson’s intent to reconfigure its north gate to eventually return it to more of a full-time operation; it was the main gate until the redesigned west gate opened in 2007 and was upgraded again in 2023.
However, there are mixed emotions about the project among people who travel through, or work in, the area…