El Paso County officials reveal causes of recent road damage in Hanover, plan next steps
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The effect of moisture and temperature extremes on aging roads are what caused many sections of two roads in Hanover to crack and crumble last week, the county's highway division manager said Wednesday.
But Tim Stickel said that such damage isn't unusual.
"A lot of those roads aren't used to the severe cold snap that we had last week," he explained. "We went from -10 degrees to nearly 70 in just a few days. You saw the repairs caused by that expansion and contraction of the soils, and we've got some old roadways out that are showing signs of breaking up and stuff."
Stickel said that crews repaired damaged sections of Hanover Road last week but fixes are still needed on Myers Road, which sustained the most damage.
"It's a chip seal road," he said. "It doesn't have asphalt on it. And that chip seal is getting old. So, the guys spent all week last week out there working on the repairs that it needs. We're going to be back out there as soon as the weather clears up."
Or, more precisely, warms up; more overnight temperatures of near or below zero are expected next week.
If it's any consolation to drivers, Stickel said that the damage looked worse than it actually was.
"But crews performed only temporary repairs," he pointed out. "We've also brought our engineering department in to see if we can find some permanent solutions."
Sickel said that crews used asphalt to repair damage on Hanover Road, and used crushed concrete to fill in affected segments of Myers Road.
He also said that preservation techniques such as slurry-sealing — performed in Security-Widefield last summer and an increased focus of the county's road maintenance — won't suffice as permanent repairs in Hanover.
"I can't even estimate the cost at at this point, because it depends on what the engineers decide if we've got to do an overlay a full rebuild," he said.
It's unclear whether the Hanover situation will affect the county's $22 million budget for road maintenance this year.
"You're at the mercy of whatever the weather decides to do," Stickel said. "The surfaces don't last forever money can never get us up to the point where we have the budget to stay on top of every paved road, on what would be industrywide standards to keep them repaved."
