Nearly two-thirds of El Paso County roads in bad shape, according to public works report Tuesday

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Board of County Commissioners received an eye-opening update Tuesday about the condition of their roads.

According to Kevin Mastin, the county's executive director of public works, 21% of roads are in poor condition and 41% require reconstruction because of potholes, failing pavement or reaching the end of their use cycle.

Of remaining county roads, the report found 11% in good condition, 15% in satisfactory condition and 12% in fair condition.

Public works has limited funds, with road repairs comprising only part of the $37 million total budget.

As a result, Mastin said that his department will focus more on preserving roads instead of rebuilding them.

"We feel that we can get the most bang for our buck out of preservation," he said. "That can be filling potholes, and we have 900 requests for that. That also includes chip-sealing, crack-sealing and overlaying (paving), if possible. But overlaying costs quite a bit more."

The county has 1,157 miles of paved road and 1,046 miles of gravel road; commissioners were shocked to learn that the $500,000 per-lane-mile cost of reconstructing a gravel road increases tenfold on a paved road.

"Five-million dollars per mile is insane," said board Chairman Stan VanderWerf. "That's like highway costs."

Mastin explained that the higher costs on paved roads include adding curbs, sidewalks and adequate drainage to meet federal disability standards.

"I'd like to know who decides why these things have to be required," said Commissioner Carrie Geitner.

Because of high repair costs and a limited budget, Mastin said that his department must be selective about which projects to choose.

"It's one thing to say we'd like to rebuild a road," he said. "But it may not be as simple as it looks, depending on the DNA of that road. That may trigger a significant bill."

The situation is why commissioners will consider asking voters for a TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) refund in November -- allowing the county to keep excess tax revenue for road maintenance, instead of refunding it to citizens.

Commissioners said that they're hopeful that some new technology being tried by public works, will save money and allow more road repairs in the near future.

In other business, commissioners ended a long public hearing by voting 4-1 for a zoning change that will allow a developer to build homes and bring water and sewer service to Rock Creek Mesa, a community along Highway 115 near Fort Carson.

Some residents are skeptical of the developer's motives and expressed concern about evacuating the area during a wildfire, but commissioners decided the opportunity to provide affordable housing and bring a stable source of water to the community is a higher priority.

In the middle of the board meeting, commissioners also held a two-hour work session on continuing water issues involving the Cherokee, Monument and Woodmoor water districts.

The board meeting began with commissioners voting to approve an annual agreement for 11 county deputies to work as resource officers in seven county school districts.

Most of those deputies switched to patrol duties last year with the majority of schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic; this week, Falcon School District 49 was the first local district to welcome deputies back.