COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Road work and safety improvements could soon begin in some of Colorado Springs’ busiest areas.

On Thursday, city leaders announced they had received two federal grants, both of which would be matched by funds from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

The first $10.7 million in Department of Defense funds will fund the construction of a new interchange at US 24 and Peterson Road, also known as the north gate of Peterson Space Force Base.

“These improvements to the transportation hub would improve safety and traffic capacity and provide multimodal options to efficiently get people to Peterson Space Force Base,” said City Engineer Gayle Sturdivant.

She said this would address concerns they had heard from emergency responders.

“What we’re hearing from the base itself is that they had security concerns about this access and then also concerns about reinforcements getting in and out of the facility,” Sturdivant said.

A local entrepreneur said he was also looking forward to the start of the project.

“Anything that helps people be aware of us or come here safely is an added bonus, and we would definitely like to attract some traffic down the road here,” said Cory Pockat, co-owner of Batteries Plus.

Sturdivant said if all goes well, the $15.3 million project could begin around August 2025 or even sooner.

The other $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program will fund a study of a possible bridge replacement for the Academy Boulevard Bridge over Platte Avenue.

Sturdivant said the bridge, built in 1965, was beginning to deteriorate.

“Because it was put together piece by piece over the years, there are areas with non-traditional spacing that have resulted in different movements. And there are also areas that are subject to corrosion. When erosion starts, other bridge components also fail,” she said.

Sturdivant said the study will allow them to anticipate any potential problems.

“This way we can demonstrate to the Federal Highway Administration that we have a project that we can adequately plan for, and we can demonstrate the need to obtain federal funding for bridge replacement,” she said.

Sturdivant said the $1.5 million study could begin around August 2025. She said they plan to hold stakeholder meetings to get community input.

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