CDOT and local officials share plans for busy Douglas County road after years of complaints

After years of complaints from drivers and several recent traffic deaths, changes are coming to a busy road outside Castle Rock. 

The West Frontage Road extends from Castle Rock south towards Larskpur. 

Currently, the Colorado Department of Transportation is making several temporary improvements to the road, but eventually, the town and county will build an entirely new road nearby as part of a major road construction project.  

For more than two decades now, West Frontage Road has been the only way in or out of Lesli Fritt's Keene Ranch neighborhood. It's a crucial lifeline for the area she dreads driving daily. 

"Be aware and be defensive," Fritts said while driving on the road Tuesday.  

According to Fritts, the lack of shoulders and lights make for a scary drive. Adding in speeding drivers and increased traffic due to growth, there's little room for error.  

"There are so many close calls. There are so many things that have gone unreported," Fritts said. "It's scary. This road is scary." 

Tucked between I-25 and the BNSF railroad track, the road is one of two frontage roads south of Castle Rock. The other is on the east side of the interstate, connecting Crystal Valley to downtown.  

Since last summer, there have been three deaths on West Frontage Road, including two teens who were hit head-on by an alleged drunk driver. 

Fritts says guardrails added to the road after the South Gap Project have made it even more constricted and dangerous and she's not alone. 

In late February, the town and county heard from residents during a town hall about the road and gave an update on its future. 

"We've known about safety issues on the west frontage road for years," said county commissioner, George Teal. "I think between the town of Castle Rock, Douglas County, and actually CDOT,  there has been work to make that road safer."  

At the meeting, a representative for CDOT shared that staff had lowered the speed limit on the road and was in the process of removing 12,000 linear feet of guardrails. 

According to a spokeswoman for CDOT, the department will leave the guardrail where some recent crashes occurred because that part of the road is higher than I-25 and the purpose of the guardrail is to reduce the severity of crashes.  

Commissioner George Teal applauds the changes but tells CBS News Colorado he believes an upcoming project will do much more to improve driver safety. 

Together, the town and county are building the Crystal Valley Interchange on I-25, alongside new development in the area.  

"That project will fix the problem," Teal said in an interview with CBS News Colorado. "It will literally move that frontage road west of the railroad tracks, completely addressing every one of the safety concerns we see right now."  

According to Castle Rock Public Works Director Dan Sailer, that project includes building a new road on the other side of the tracks. There'll be two lanes in one area and four in another, with wide shoulders and a center median.  

"When we construct the ramps, that portion will be moved or relocated to the west side of the railroad tracks, essentially connecting Tomah Road down to that extension of that Crystal Valley roadway," Sailer said. "I realize it will take a couple of years, but I think it will be a vast improvement to what folks are experiencing."  

Fritts is not as optimistic. She worries the new road won't be able to handle the upcoming growth and would still limit mobility for the neighborhoods closer to Larkspur, among other concerns. 

"God forbid there's an emergency, a fire evacuation, you're looking at thousands of residents still coming down a two-lane road," she said.  

In the meantime, she's encouraged by changes to the current road, and hopes more will come soon, including better lighting, more guardrail removal, and taller barriers between the road and interstate, among other things.  

"They have finally started to listen," Fritts said. "Unfortunately, it's taken deaths, innocent lives to do so."  

CDOT's spokeswoman tells CBS News Colorado that the department has also modified the passing zones and rumble strips on the road, and it's working to improve the I-25 on-ramp at Plum Creek. 

She urged drivers to do their part to drive safely, saying the leading causes of crashes are speeding, reckless driving and impaired driving.  

The city and county are hoping construction can start on the new interchange and frontage road sometime this year. They expect the whole process to take about two years.