Douglas County Pine Drive project slows traffic, adds lanes in Parker

Drivers on Pine Drive and Pine Lane are already dealing with a slower, narrower corridor in Parker, and Douglas County says the disruption will keep changing as crews move through more than a year of work between Inspiration Drive and Lincoln Avenue. The county lowered the speed limit in the active construction zone to 30 mph, paused work for Memorial Day, and said alternating lane closures would continue as the project ramps back up, including intermittent closures on northbound Pine Drive, eastbound and westbound Ponderosa Drive, and westbound Pine Lane.

For commuters, school drop-offs and nearby businesses, the immediate impact is not just the reduced speed limit but the shifting access patterns. County notices said a temporary traffic shift on Pine Drive near Lincoln Avenue would remain in place for about two weeks while crews work in the landscaped median, and residents near Lincoln Avenue could see more construction activity and noise beginning May 28 as pipe installation starts. Earlier notices also warned of alternating single-lane traffic with flaggers on Pine Lane and delays of up to 10 minutes during the utility work.

The broader fix is a $13,218,000 project fully funded by Douglas County. It will add two lanes on Pine Drive, creating four total travel lanes from north of Lincoln Avenue to north of Pine Lane, add new traffic signals at Ponderosa Drive and Pine Drive and at Pine Lane and Pine Drive, and widen Pine Lane to include through lanes, a center turn lane and a westbound right-turn deceleration lane at Dixon Drive. County officials say the goal is a safer, more efficient corridor as growth continues in southeast Douglas County.

The project moved from planning to construction after commissioners approved a $3 million reallocation and signed off on the Hamon Infrastructure Co. contract, not to exceed $13,218,000, in a 3-0 vote on March 10. Douglas County posted a kickoff notice on April 3, construction began April 6, and general work hours were set for Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with Saturday work possible if approved by the county engineer.

The Pine Drive work is also part of a larger county push. Douglas County’s traffic-signal planning page lists Pine Drive and Pine Lane, along with Pine Drive and Ponderosa Lane, as planned lane-widening and signal projects for 2026. A 2025 planning filing for parcels east of Lincoln Avenue and Pine Drive said the widening north of Lincoln reflects significant growth-pattern changes, and the Town of Parker says a related Lincoln Avenue and Pine Drive intersection project is a joint effort with Douglas County under a funding agreement executed in 2024. County records currently put completion at the end of July 2027, meaning Parker drivers will keep adjusting their routes for the long haul before the full payoff arrives.