The Colorado Department of Transportation has launched a Planning and Environmental Linkages study of U.S. Highway 24, between Powers Boulevard in Colorado Springs and Ramah, Colorado. The purpose of the PEL study is to identify transportation issues and environmental concerns for planning analysis and decisions.ìWe are looking for areas of congestion or perhaps where there is no opportunity to pass,î said Andy Stecklein, CDOT project manager. ìWe are looking at safety concerns, trying to find areas that may have higher-than-average crash rates and key in on those areas. Using the study information, we are going to arrive at the conclusion about where those locations are; based on traffic data and community feedback.îThe PEL process requires that CDOT collaborate with a multi-faceted team, Stecklein said. ìWhat we need to do is get ahold of all the local and regional plans that are out there and integrate those into a large-scale regional study that we can make a smart decision on. We want to know about future plans so that we would be able to facilitate those plans, which may not be CDOT plans, but we need to marry those plans with ours.îCDOT worked on the study with the following agencies: El Paso County; the city of Colorado Springs; the town of Calhan; the town of Ramah; Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments; Central Front Range Transportation Planning Region; and the Federal Highway Administration.Additionally, CDOT presented the study information to the public at two town hall meetings: the first at Meridian Ranch Recreation Center in Falcon Aug. 16 and the second at the Career Technical Education Facility in Peyton Aug. 23. Attendees were urged to provide written feedback at both meetings in the form of submitted comments or map drawings of the highway corridor, indicating their concerns and the locations of those concerns.Based on the PEL study results and community input, recommendations will be made to reduce congestion, improve corridor and intersection operations and enhance the safety of all users along the highway corridor, Stecklein said.ìAt the end of the PEL process, we will have identified those projects and have alternatives selected,î he said. ìWhen the overall project does begin, the area will already be cleared environmentally; meaning historic features like the green bridge on Highway 24, cultural resources, wetlands or wildlife biology; will have been identified, which will then help determine what the project will look like based on those parameters.îThe timeline for the projects depends on determining the source and availability of funds for each one, Stecklein said. It is likely that the projects will be done in phases.For additional information about the project or to submit a comment, visit the projectís website at http://codot.gov/projects/us-24-pel-study.
