Local roads benefit from county spending

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

Eastonville Road will get curbs, gutters and pavement from the box culvert near Snaffle Bit Road to Stapleton Road.Nearby Falcon, but outside District 2, road and bridge fund dollars are paying for the design and reconstruction of the Black Forest Road and Burgess Road intersection.The PPRTA is funding the Hodgen Road improvement between Black Forest Road and Highway 83, as well as work that’s under way on Marksheffel Road between North Carefree Circle and Colorado Technical Drive.The goal for Marksheffel Road is to make it four lanes from Highway 24 to Woodmen Road.With a little extra PPRTA dollars, the four lanes could be brought north to Dublin Road or to the boundary of Colorado Springs, Brackin said.This year, local maintenance projects include paving overlay for these roads:

• 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

Chip sealing is scheduled for these local roads this year:

• 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

The county will also spend $401,000 to maintain these gravel roads:

• 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

The county accepts roads built by developers for big subdivisions into the county road system.”(Such a road) is going to have to meet the same standards as any other local public road with respect to design and construction standards,” Brackin said. “We’ll inspect it and test it to make sure it meets all the paint and thickness criteria before we accept it into the county road system.””We’ve had some issues with some developments that have come in and gone caput,” said county Commissioner Amy Lathen. The developers’ use of out-of-state bonds often left the county stuck paying for roads in those developments because the bonds had so many claims against them.Going forward, the county will no longer accept out-of-state bonds, Lathen said.The county is also working on a new system of up-front developer fees that should prevent the problems of the past, Brackin said.Developers of small subdivisions – 35 acres divided into five or six lots – will still be allowed to build private roads that homeowners will be responsible for maintaining, he said.