Big need, little funding available for paving in El Paso County

The sales-tax-for-streets paving project in Colorado Springs isn’t the only road improvement project happening in the area this season.

El Paso County got an early start on its annual road paving project. In March, the county began paving 20 miles of roads in 30 separate projects, spending about $4 million from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority’s 1-cent sales tax.

The county recently finished paving 4 miles of Burgess Road in Black Forest and currently is working on Peak View Boulevard in Monument.

The longest remaining stretches are 5.4 miles of Sweet Road near Peyton and 2 miles of Kings Deer Point east of Monument.

Jennifer Irvine, acting county engineer, said the county has 1,000 miles of paved roads that should receive $16 million in upgrades every year.

Irvine said at one time the county talked with Colorado Springs about joining the 2C sales tax campaign approved by voters to generate funding for paving projects.

“But that didn’t work out,” she said. “So we’ll keep doing the best with what we have.”

The paving so far has earned glowing reviews from drivers.

“This is long overdue,” Kris Hill sad. “Now, if only they’d do my street.”