Weekend gives flooded roads time to dry out

Standing water has receded on a dirt road near Ellicott, but the road remains closed to traffic Sunday.

A half-mile stretch of Sanborn Road has been closed since Friday because of flooding and erosion. El Paso County said the road needs more time to dry before heavy equipment is brought in to repair it.

The area often floods after heavy rain.

“Several creeks merge into one spot here,” said George Schubert, a local farmer and rancher. “It’s part of nature. Not many people live out here and they have other roads they can use to get in and out.”

Schubert disagrees with the county’s intention to install a culvert for better drainage.

“It’ll work maybe 8 out of 10 times, but the rest of the time it’s just going to wash out,” he said.

Schubert suggests the county build a Texas crossing.

“It’s when you put a level base on the road so that when a flash flood happens, it doesn’t wash out the road,” he said. “Cleanup and reopening can take hours instead of days.”

Meanwhile, another area prone to flooding — Siferd Boulevard just west of the Colorado Springs city limits — reopened this weekend after water flowed over it Friday.

The road is between a creek and water normally flows underneath. However, the county said upstream drainage issues contribute to the flooding.