Drier weather allows more progress on potholes, paving

For possibly the first time all year, local road and street crews are finally getting cooperation from the weather.

Several days of warmer, drier conditions have helped crews in Colorado Springs and El Paso County catch up on pothole repair and repaving delayed by constant rain.

On Wednesday, a city crew applied a fresh layer of asphalt to Jet Wing Drive, north of Platte Avenue, while a county crew repaired potholes near the intersection of Judge Orr and Eastonville roads.

“We don’t have as many lane miles as the city does,” said Max Kirschbaum, operations manager for county public services. “But we have dirt roads as well as paved roads to deal with. Still, we strive to complete pothole repairs within seven days of date of notification.”

Kirschbaum said the county has spent $40,000 on street and road improvements this year and will spend $300,000 by the end of the year.

The city reports spending $470,000 on potholes through the end of June.

Since April 15, the Colorado Department of Transportation locally has spent nearly $72,000 on potholes and almost $44,000 on related paving projects.