Repairs are coming to Prairie Avenue in Pueblo. Here's how they might impact your commute

Substantial repairs to Prairie Avenue that have been years in the making are expected to start this month as part of the city’s effort to improve roadways around Pueblo. 

Contractors next week will likely begin minor work that will lead to spotted interruptions on Prairie Avenue between Pueblo Boulevard and Northern Avenue. Paving work, which is much more intrusive, is likely to start in two to three weeks, said Andrew Hayes, Pueblo director of public works. 

“We’ve been doing concrete work out there for the past couple of months,” Hayes said. “All of that is work that has to be done in preparation for the paving work.” 

That concrete work includes repairing sidewalks, curbs, gutters and relocating utility poles, among other improvements. Crews will perform mill and overlay work, one of several types of asphalt treatments, at Prairie Avenue when they begin. 

The asphalt paving at Prairie has an estimated cost of $1.4 million, making it one of the more expensive projects in the city’s 2023 street repairs plan. 

The project has been in the works for at least a few years, but the city couldn’t start it until certain requirements were met. The Colorado Department of Transportation, which is working with the city on the project, also had to fulfill specific conditions. 

“People have been anxiously awaiting (repairs) to Prairie,” Hayes previously told the Chieftain. “It’s in pretty rough shape. If you’ve driven it, you know.” 

How will the project impact commuters on Prairie? 

Next week, travelers can expect interruptions to traffic in areas where work is being done along that section of Prairie Avenue. The specific areas in which crews are working can vary each day, Hayes said, but that work won’t cause any significant delays. 

Once contractors begin mill and overlay work in that area, motorists can expect minimal delays and might see roadways shift to one lane at times because construction teams will likely need to shut down a few lanes to safely complete concrete work. 

Hayes estimates that any delay might add a couple of extra minutes, at most, to a person’s commute. Because Pueblo’s road network operates like a grid, there are multiple alternate routes commuters can take, he said. Drivers might be asked to take a detour, if necessary. 

The project is expected to last around a month, if not slightly longer, Hayes said. 

Repairs to Prairie are latest in city's effort to improve roadways 

The Prairie Avenue project is one of more than 10 the city put on the list of roadways it sought to improve in 2023. Other roads that were targeted this year included Baltimore Avenue, South Joplin Avenue and Cheyenne Avenue, among several others.

It’s also part of an effort to improve the city’s roadway network, which as of May 1, according to an assessment report from the city, had been in “fair” condition. Other descriptions on the pavement condition index (PCI), which ranges in value from 0 to 100, include “failed” and “poor,” each inferior to “fair” and have a grade between 0 and 55. The PCI range for “fair” is 56 to 70. 

Nearly 48% of the road network in Pueblo had been in “fair” shape and 21% was satisfactory, or in the 71 to 85 PCI range.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain atsubscribe.chieftain.com.