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OPINION
What does 2.3 million in transportation dollars get you in a county with over 900 miles of paved road and 1100 miles of gravel and dirt roads? - Dirt is my word, the transportation folks call it “native material”. The 2.3 million is two years worth of savings on construction contracts that came in under the estimate, attrition savings when there are vacant Department of Transportation (DOT) positions or any place else they can save a dollar. Starting close to home, the Security Ditch which parallels the railroad track in Security and Widefield, was approved for $100,000 to match what was funded two years ago. As with many rebuild projects it was in worse shape than originally predicted. Woody Creek Rd. in Sunrise Ridge was allocated $165,000 for repair of gutter, sidewalk and cross pans in preparation for new asphalt in 2008. Forest Road and Claiborne St. in Stratmoor Valley will receive $265,000 dollars for curb, gutter and sidewalk. There have been drainage issues on those two roads for decades and this will help bring the roads and sidewalks on par with other residential areas in the county. With $100,000 for gravel going to the only east-west through road in southern El Paso County, Meyers will become an all weather road. After a recent storm the state patrol had to detour 69 miles to reach the scene of an accident due to Meyers being impassable for all but 4-wheel drive vehicles. $500,000 for a fairly extensive drainage project just south of Hwy. 24 will handle some flooding issues. Paving a few short sections of high traffic roads in Falcon and Woodmoor added another $320,000. The biggest single expenditure will be for a well, pump and storage tank in Ellicott at $850,000. It’s a lot of money but our water rights are in the deepest and most dependable aquifer. With restrictions on where we can use the water from a well in Calhan, the increased cost of purchasing outside water and the expense of transporting water, the yearly savings will result in a 10 year payback. Water is rarely used for dust control due to rapid evaporation but non paved roads, particularly those treated with magnesium chloride for dust control, need to be moist just to grade and shape them. We were able to spread the work around the county this year, but we have a few projects in the design stage that may take the bulk of any one year’s under spending the next few years if we can’t work them into the regular DOT budget. 2.3 million didn’t solve many of the problems on our streets and roads, but we continue to chip away at them.
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