MONUMENT, Colorado (KRDO) — Construction on what is believed to be the second roundabout built by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in the Pikes Peak region is now entering its third month.

Located on the southwest side of the Monument area, at the intersection of Baptist Road and Terrazzo Drive, it is an important site between two rest areas and downhill from a third.

CDOT believes the roundabout is necessary to better regulate the increasing traffic flow caused by heavy trucks – not only because of the rest stops, but also because of a UPS processing center and a sand transportation and supply company, as well as commercial and industrial growth that includes several warehouse projects and a Budweiser Sales partnership.

Matthew Jagow, a CDOT project engineer, said construction began in June but was delayed two weeks because the agency revised the original design of the roundabout.

“The initial phase was designed to manage all traffic flow and turns,” he explained. “So we went back and looked at our phases and tried to provide better, safer traffic. We tried to figure out if we could reroute traffic through the intersection and still serve all the businesses and minimize the impact.”

The new roundabout will be located just east of an existing roundabout at the intersection of Baptist, Old Denver and Wood Carver Road.

A Valero The truck stop is located on a hill at the I-25/Baptist exit. To get to pilot And Fast travel During construction, the truck will stop at the bottom of the hill, traffic must drive through the construction site and the existing roundabout, turn south and pass behind the Fast travel – the newest of the three rest areas – to Terrazzo.

This can be confusing for drivers, especially during the busiest times of the day.

CDOT expects to complete the two-lane roundabout in November at a cost of $4 million.

Two months ago, the agency opened a roundabout at the intersection of US 50 and Highway 115 in Penrose, Fremont County.

According to CDOT, a roundabout is the best way to safely direct traffic and reduce the severity of any accidents.

The agency also confirmed that a planned roundabout that KRDO13 reported on last year — at Highway 83 and the El Paso-Douglas County line, east of Monument — will not be built anytime soon.

“But we’re currently looking at 83 and Stagecoach Road, and what they’re doing there is what we call intersection control violations,” Jagow said. “So we’re looking at all kinds of intersection controls – doing nothing, stop controls or a roundabout with a traffic light.”

The idea for this roundabout was born out of a CDOT study to control speeding and reduce accidents along a 10-mile stretch of Route 83 between Powers Boulevard and the El Paso-Douglas county line.