COLORADO SPRINGS – As Air Force Space Command grows in Colorado Springs, local leaders will need to focus on improving a key highway that connects its two primary bases.

That’s the message Space Command Gen. Jay Raymond delivered to a Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce crowd Monday as he heralded new troops, more federal cash and a heightened dedication to ensuring the safety of America’s military satellites. While things have never looked better for the space business, the highway that connects Peterson and Schriever Air Force bases remains a trouble spot, with two fatal crashes on Colorado 94 last summer and a severe injury crash this month.

“One of the things I’m concerned about is the highway leading to Schriever,” Raymond said, noting that the route also has caused trouble for airmen under his command.

Colorado 94 will get more traffic this summer as the new Joint Forces Space Component under Raymond adds 150 troops to Schriever, which is already home to units including the 50th Space Wing.

The growth at Schriever, announced last week, accompanies Raymond’s new role atop military space efforts for the Army and Navy. He was appointed to the post in December as part of Pentagon efforts to better prepare for war in space. Discussions of combat reaching orbit were in the spotlight in Colorado Springs two weeks ago at the National Space Symposium, which counted top military brass among its 14,000 participants. From the Oval Office on down, the military is seeing a push to improve U.S. satellites and prepare the military for attacks in space, Raymond said. The military over the past three decades has become increasingly reliant on satellites for navigation, intelligence, communications and targeting the enemy.

“We have to worry about protecting and defending those capabilities,” he said.

Much of that effort is now being carried out at Schriever, where Space Command troops and intelligence agency experts are working in the National Space Defense Center to develop tactics for space warfare.

But Raymond said the work also will require help from the private sector. The Air Force this year hiked space-spending plans by $7 billion over five years – much of which will go for research and development.

Space Command also is working to open a “rapid capabilities” office that will allow more money to flow to innovative small- and medium-sized businesses with far less Pentagon red tape.

“It allows us to go fast,” Raymond said.

Colorado Springs – home to 250 defense contractors, most of them small businesses – seems poised to benefit from the Pentagon’s space-spending boost. Raymond backed up that belief.

“There are great opportunities here for this city,” he said. But while reaping the benefits of Space Command, locals also need to give the military a helping hand. Raymond has Colorado 94 atop his wish list.

“That’s one I think needs attention,” he said.

Some help already is on the way. The Colorado Department of Transportation has budgeted $2 million for safety improvements to the east-west highway north of Schriever. The last major work there was conducted in 2012, with $5.7 million spent on paving and widening portions of the highway.

While Raymond wants the road repaired, he’s not worried about the Pikes Peak region’s commitment to the military. Stationed here four times during his 33 years in uniform, the general says he came to think of the place as home.

“You take great care of us,” he said.