(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Sunset Amphitheater in Colorado Springs is one step closer to opening as crews kicked off a lengthy construction project on the city’s north side.

In the Northgate neighborhood, Voyager Parkway near Spectrum Loop will close for an entire year as part of the ongoing Powers Boulevard Extension Project. The $21 million project to build an overpass for the future extension of Powers Boulevard started Monday, Nov. 20. The closure is expected to last into next fall with the goal to get the bridge in place to alleviate traffic impacts once the Sunset Amphitheatre opens in the Summer of 2024.

“The construction is going to last until September 2024 so people should get used to the detour,” said Tim Mitros, Copper Ridge Metro District.

Northbound and southbound traffic on Voyager Parkway will detour on Spectrum Loop to the west.

Map of an upcoming road closure for a construction project

Courtesy: City of Colorado Springs

“People will still be able to access the businesses on either side of Voyager Parkway and we will have the on and off ramps open during construction,” Mitros explained. “It will just be Voyager Parkway closed itself and Spectrum Loop will be used as the detour.”

Crews have a tight deadline with the goal of opening Voyager Parkway to traffic before the Sunset Amphitheatre opens.

“It’s the benefit to the developer to get the bridge in place now so that the Sunset Amphitheatre won’t have any impacts from traffic when it opens in 2024,” Mitros said.

The Copper Ridge Metro District is fronting the cost of the project through property tax revenue. Picking up the finance charges allows the project to be completed sooner than waiting for available funding from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority. Officials say traffic impacts will be minimal.

“In the future is where it’s going to be the impact, to get Powers to be constructed from Dublin Boulevard all the way to Interstate 25 without any lights,” Mitros explained.

When Powers is eventually extended from Highway 83 at Interquest Parkway to Voyager, it will take traffic under the newly constructed bridge and connect to I-25. Finishing touches on the Powers Boulevard Extension Project are expected to occur in phases through 2027, weather permitting.