Water outages along North Academy Boulevard set to begin

May 1—The first phase of a $6.7 million project to improve water service reliability along North Academy Boulevard has begun, Colorado Springs Utilities officials said Monday in a news release.

Some water outages are planned Tuesday-Thursday as crews work 24 hours a day to keep service disruption to a minimum, Utilities said in the news release. All customers who will be affected by outages were notified in advance.

Crews will replace several water valves on large pipelines at various intersections along North Academy to "reduce unplanned service outages in the future," the project website states. For example, there was a large water main break in this area, at North Academy and Maizeland Road, in March 2021.

Construction zones in the area of this project will affect motorists, but businesses will remain accessible, according to Utilities.

Other businesses near Austin Bluffs and North Academy won't be as fortunate, losing their water for three days and forcing some to close their doors during the work, according to Gazette news partner KKTV.

"A couple of days ago, my landlord just showed up and he just dropped it here and said, 'Hey, you guys have to close down May 2 through May 4,'" said Leo Cha, the manager at San Chang House.

Cha is planning to close San Chang House's doors for three days.

Construction will be broken down into three phases, Utilities officials said in an earlier Gazette story.

The new valves will allow Utilities officials to better control the water system in an emergency. They will be able to shut off smaller sections of the water main during a break to make repairs, said Jennifer Jordan, a Utilities spokeswoman.

Work on the first phase is expected to last about a month, officials said.

During the first phase, crews will work concurrently at the Maizeland Road and North Carefree Circle intersections at Academy, according to a project timeline on the Utilities website.

The road will immediately be repaved after the valve work is completed, Jordan said.

During the second phase, officials will complete work at the Academy Boulevard and Austin Bluffs Parkway intersection.

A future project at the intersection of Academy Boulevard and Meadowland Road is scheduled between fall 2024 and spring 2025, according to the project website.

The valve replacement project will be paid for with capital funds, Jordan said.

People with questions or concerns about the project should email engage@csu.org.