Traveling on Highway 24 through the Falcon Highway and Old Meridian Road intersections at evening rush hour usually means traffic congestion. But that should change with new traffic patterns created by a reconstructed Old Meridian Road intersection and the New Meridian Road intersection. Natalie Sosa, a deputy public information officer for El Paso County, said the New Meridian Road intersection will be fully signalized with right and left turn lanes in all directions.ìWe anticipate the level of usage for the proposed intersection will rise significantly compared with the existing intersection,î Sosa said. ìAdditional turn lanes and increased lane length will increase vehicle capacity. At the same time, signal cycles have been revised to allow fluid flow through the intersection.î Once that intersection is completed early next year, work will resume on the Old Meridian Road intersection. A median will be located in the middle of Highway 24, and the intersection will become a right-in, right-out intersection ó only right turns will be allowed from any direction. There will be no traffic signal. However, Falcon Fire Protection District station 3, which is situated at that intersection, will have control of an emergency signal light that will be mounted on the median. Jeff Petersma, Falcon Fire Protection District deputy chief, said the activation switch will have a time delay to allow firefighters to get into their gear and get their vehicle out and onto Highway 24. Fire vehicles will be able to jump the curb and go either south or east on Highway 24.Old Meridian Road will terminate just past Swingline Road in a cul-de-sac next to a park and drive lot. There will be no traffic signal at Swingline Road. New Meridian Road and Falcon Highway will form a three-way intersection without a traffic signal.This project was several years in the planning, used numerous funding sources, included public input and took into account several county master plans and input from the city of Colorado Springs, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Falcon Fire Protection District.
