AASHTO Journal - Colorado DOT Wraps Military-Focused Highway Project

The Colorado Department of Transportation, El Paso County, and the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) recently celebrated the completion of the Military Access Mobility & Safety Improvement Project or MAMSIP; marking the end of a five-year, $161 million infrastructure project designed to improve safety, efficiency, and connectivity for key military personnel across four strategic roadway corridors in the El Paso County region.

[Above photo by Colorado DOT]

MAMSIP improved four highway corridors — I-25, Colorado Highway 94, South Academy Boulevard, and Charter Oak Ranch Road — that together form the critical transportation links connecting Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and Schriever Space Force Base.

Shoshana Lew. Photo by the Colorado DOT.

The project was funded through Colorado DOT, El Paso County, the PPRTA, and an $18.35 million Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development or BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, with more than 80 percent of funding coming from state, regional, and local sources.

“The vitality of the Pikes Peak region is a key part of Colorado’s success,” said Shoshana Lew, Colorado DOT’s executive director, in a statement.

“We want to ensure that pillars of our national security — like the military installations in this region — can be accessed safely and predictably, even as the civilian population continues to grow,” she said.

“These transportation improvements will better enable the population to grow through more efficient movement, making the Pikes Peak area more attractive for the military and nationally strategic missions in future years,” Lew added.

The four MAMSIP project components include:

Colorado Highway 94 Safety Improvements (Completed: spring 2023): CO 94 connects Peterson Space Force Base with Schriever Space Force Base and is traveled daily by approximately 15,000 military and civilian personnel. The corridor had suffered from congestion, steep grades, and crashes involving slow-moving heavy vehicles. Key improvements included a new westbound passing lane, a signalized “jug handle” intersection at Blaney Road to divert slow-moving trucks, and approximately nine miles of fiber-optic cable to enable future intelligent transportation system capabilities.
Charter Oak Ranch Road Improvements (Completed: spring 2023): Charter Oak Ranch Road is the sole access to Fort Carson’s Gate 19, designated by the U.S. Army as important to national defense. Deteriorating conditions had been pushing personnel to use Gate 20 instead, causing regular backups onto I-25 off-ramps. Improvements included a full roadway rebuild and widening, a new roundabout replacing a four-way stop at Santa Fe Avenue, drainage upgrades and structural improvements.
I-25 Safety & Efficiency Improvements (Completed: fall 2024): The 7.5-mile I-25 segment between South Academy Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue in Fountain recorded 18 fatalities in the five years prior to MAMSIP’s BUILD application – many from head-on collisions across an unprotected median. The corridor received a comprehensive overhaul including replacement of two 1971-era bridges over South Academy Boulevard, shoulder widening, a concrete overlay providing a 30-year pavement design life, installation of a full-length median barrier virtually eliminating fatal head-on collisions, maintenance on four additional bridges, and a lengthened deceleration lane at CO 16.
South Academy Boulevard Efficiency and Resiliency Improvements (Completed: July 2026): South Academy Boulevard is a 15-mile arterial carrying approximately 57,500 vehicles daily, serving as a critical link between Peterson Space Force Base and Fort Carson. The southern 1.5-mile segment was chronically congested and crossed two Fountain Creek bridges rated as scour-critical – at risk of structural failure following major flood events. Improvements expanded the roadway from two lanes to three lanes in each direction, completed scour repairs and bridge widening over Fountain Creek, US 85/87, and Bradley Road, and added noise walls, new drainage and lighting infrastructure.