Last year, El Paso County’s transportation department spent $6,034,000 on road maintenance throughout the county.El Paso County Engineer Andre Brackin said more than half of that amount, or $3,842,000, was spent in District 2, which encompasses the eastern half of the county and includes areas such as Falcon, Peyton and Calhan.Rebuilding segments of Peyton Highway and Calhan Highway were among the major projects completed in 2010. Both highways were in bad shape, with extensive alligator cracking and pot-hole repairs required on a regular basis; the roads were literally falling apart, Brackin said.The county saves money by grinding up the old asphalt and using it as the base for new asphalt.Brackin estimated there are more than 30 miles of county road that need to be completely rebuilt.Deciding which roads and projects to work on isn’t easy.”We have an extremely limited budget to address the needs. It’s almost unconscionable the little money that’s here for this road system,” he said. “It’s not even close to where it needs to be for a community and road network of this size.”Brackin’s list of projects for 2011 in District 2 includes the extension of Stapleton Road, from Eastonville Road to Highway 24 and reconstruction of the southbound lane of Meridian Road, from Rex Road to Woodmen Road.Both are capital projects funded by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, which voters authorized in 2004 to collect a 1 percent sales tax to fund transportation and transit improvements.Fifty-five percent of PPRTA money is allocated to capital projects, 35 percent is for maintenance and 10 percent is for metro transit improvements, according to http://pprta.com.Brackin said a combination of money from the PPRTA, the federal government and the county’s road and bridge fund (funded by property taxes and vehicle registration fees) will pay for two designs:
- Falcon Park and Ride at the southeast corner of Swingline Road
- Realignment of Meridian Road between Highway 24 and Falcon Highway
- Meridian Road, from Colorado Springs city limits to Highway 24
- Falcon Highway, from Rio Road to Good Fortune Road
- Falcon Highway, from West Peyton Highway to Ellicott Highway
- McLaughlin Road, from Woodmen Road to Midnight Road
- Judge Orr Road, from Ellicott Highway to Soap Weed Road
- Ellicott Highway, from Garrett Road to Judge Orr Road
- Peyton Highway, from Highway 94 to Garrett Road
- Calhan Highway, from Judge Orr Road to Hanisch Road West
- Woodlake Road, from Meridian Road to Hodgen Road
- Swan Road, from Black Forest Road to Vollmer Road
- Remington Road, from Hodgen Road to Rifle Terrace
- Dzruris Road, from McClelland Road to Eurich Road
- Ramah Highway, from Highway 94 to Judge Orr Road
- Sweet Road, from Peyton Highway to Ellicott Highway
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