Drivers anxiously check their watches. Passengers text their friends in hopes teachers will excuse their tardiness. Alarms are set for earlier in the morning. A line of cars work to navigate through a complicated maze of cones.

The Monarch construction is the cause of all of these conflicts and more.

“Added onto my trips to school, sometimes it’s been ten minutes just to make the turn. [In the past], it’s been like five minutes or so when they were doing the one-lane stuff,” Waverly Oppenheimer ‘27 said.   

In a recent project solidified by the City of Castle Pines, a series of road construction projects are scheduled to take place over the next three years. These projects include several road improvements and reconstructions on routes like Monarch Boulevard, Castle Pines Parkway, Happy Canyon Road, Lagae Road and more.

Castle Pines’ population grew at a rate of roughly 205.37% from 2010 to 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The growing city is connected to its surrounding areas by only four main roads: Monarch Boulevard, Happy Canyon Road, Lagae Road, and Daniels Park Road.

These four roads allow the city’s residents to access areas beyond Castle Pines for several purposes, such as work, school, recreation and more. Two of which, Monarch Boulevard and Daniels Park Road, transport Castle Pines area students to school every day.

Ihita Kataru ’26 lives in Parker, but uses Monarch to travel between home and extracurricular activities.

“Monarch is very crucial [for me] because I take Monarch to get to a lot of my after-school activities,” Kataru said.

Construction projects are no stranger to Castle Pines, as there are currently 54 small and large-scale construction projects underway per the city’s Development Activity Map.

Road construction projects have been underway since 2022, including last year’s Monarch redo that stretched from Winter Berry Drive to the northern city limits.

“A total of 100 workers are contributing to the project. This number includes the workers who were involved in the development of the project plans and those who are contributing to the project construction,” Castle Pines mayor Tracy Engerman said. 

The road construction blocked a route that facilitated travel to school for a large portion of the school’s boundary zone.

On March 17, a new round of construction began from the intersection of Castle Pines Parkway to Glen Oaks Drive on Monarch. A school-wide email was sent to students about the project explaining its details prior to its start to allow for preparations to be made.

“The City is excited to announce the beginning of the 2024 Monarch Boulevard reconstruction project, a key component of the 2024 Road Solutions initiative,” the email read. “We recognize the impact of construction on your daily routines and are committed to completing this project as swiftly as possible.”

The school was not notified of the construction prior to its start and reacted by sending an email out to community members after they received the news.

“We have to react to it. I get the information usually pretty quickly and then we react to it, which is typically just notifying our community,” Principal Andrew Abner said. 

So what exactly is happening with the construction? Under development since 2020, the project entails a multitude of improvements.

The project will complete a total roadway tearout and asphalt replacement, a new waterline stretching 4,300 feet, stormwater infrastructure improvements and six-foot-wide bike lanes. The project is anticipated to be completed around September 2024.

A video from the City of Castle Pines shows three-dimensional renderings of the completed roadway construction project on Monarch Boulevard between Castle Pines Parkway and Glen Oaks Avenue.

“In 2020, the initial steps of this project included a complete evaluation of the two major arterial roadways in Castle Pines, both of which were concrete roads. The evaluation was conducted by the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) and a staff engineer who assessed the current condition and made recommendations for the necessary repair,” Engerman said.

Monarch is one of the routes students living in the Castle Pines boundary area take to get to school. Students are forced to take detour routes as a result of the construction. The two routes detour onto Daniels Park Road and Buffalo Trail.

“I had my driver’s license test on Saturday, and I was supposed to go [through Castle Pines] but [Monarch] was closed and then there was an oil spill on I-25. So I couldn’t get my driver’s license,” Misha Shah ‘26 said.

The congestion and route changes have extended travel time to and from school for some students. This caused a change in attendance patterns during the first week after construction started. 

“When it first happened, we noticed a lot of absences. But after that, it has been fine. I think people have had to adjust their times in the morning. I’d say we’re at a point now where we’re pretty good in terms of the kids arriving on time now in terms of absences,” Abner said.

Amidst the feelings expressed by the impacted Castle Pines residents, Castle Pines mayor Tracy Engerman addressed their concerns and the importance of the project.

“The City acknowledges this work impacts the lives of residents who live within the construction zones or individuals traveling through the city. Still, this is an absolutely necessary project as the road is failing and the water line is overdue for replacement,” Engerman said.

There are currently two more road improvement projects for Monarch Boulevard scheduled through 2027, completing improvements on the entire Castle Pines stretch of Monarch. On top of Monarch improvements, several other projects are planned across Castle Pines in the future.

The Castle Pines government has provided multiple resources of information related to the ongoing project.

Ask questions or voice any concerns by emailing [email protected] or calling 303-705-0200. For more information on the project, click here.