The Colorado Department of Transportation will end 2020 by bringing the Interstate Highway 25 South Gap project closer to completion with the addition of a highway interchange and two wildlife crossings, department officials said Friday.

The Greenland Road and I-25 interchange has been transformed from a one-lane culvert into a full two-lane underpass, according to the department. It is scheduled to open Tuesday.

The wildlife underpasses — one near the Greenland Road interchange and the other near the County Line Bridge — are each 100 feel wide and 18 feet tall and are designed to reduce the number of collisions between vehicles and animals.

CDOT plans to add two more underpasses for a total of four, which are expected to reduce wildlife-related crashes by 90%.

The South Gap project will add a third toll lane in each direction in the 18-mile stretch of I-25 between Monument and Castle Rock.

Normal traffic patterns will be affected in the days leading up to the opening of the new interchange as crews finish their work, CDOT said. For the latest updates, visit i25gap.codot.gov, or the project’s Facebook page (@I25SouthGapProject). 

Pikes Peak Highway visitation surges due to record-breaking fall

$11.3 million project aims to reduce wildlife collisions by 85 percent on Colorado highway