Garden of the Gods Road lane closures will stay through evening rush hour

The rush hour on Garden of Gods Road will be tighter than usual at Forge Road this evening as crews keep working to fix a broken water main under the road.

Eastbound traffic will have to squeeze through one lane just at the intersection with Forge.

Westbound, two lanes are open at that location.

Left-turn lanes, from Garden of the Gods Road to Forge Road, are closed in both directions.

All lanes east of Forge are open.

The 24-inch water pipe burst just after sundown Tuesday. Late this afternoon, Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman Steve Berry said work was expected to be completed by 11 p.m. tonight.

The break, he said, was caused by shifting soils that had contracted under last week's bitter cold and had begun to expand during the recent thaw.

Several businesses along Garden of the Gods Road were without water during repairs, and "two to three" of them were expected to have their water restored by mid-evening, Berry said.

Elsewhere today, a 12-inch water line broke under North Carefree Circle, near Picturesque Circle, Berry said. The cause was the same: soil movement caused by the temperature changes. Traffic was restricted near the break.