Woodland Park residents express mixed reaction to pair of repaving projects completed late last year

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) — Some citizens were skeptical about whether two paving projects which didn't start until late last summer, would be finished before winter weather arrived.

In mid-October, The Road Warrior reported on the biggest project — a mile-long reconstruction of Lake Avenue which crosses the town between Rampart Range Road and Highway 67.

Despite snow that fell in late October and early November, a town official said that workers completed the project before the end of the year.

While some residents were unhappy with detours and other traffic impacts, most seem satisfied with the quality of the paving.

"Well, it probably needed to be done," said Dan Olson. "But I think there's a lot of other streets up here that are in a lot worse shape, that could use some work on them."

Another street to be paved was Dewell Road, a block-long hilly street that some neighbors described as little more than a trail since shortly after World War II.

Dewell passes in front of several homes that are under construction or have been rebuilt.

One neighbor, Paul Bixler, said that he's dissatisfied with the quality of the paving there because late fall snows made the base too soft and the asphalt above it, unstable.

"I've done paving for 40 years and it's not the way I would have done it," he said. "I know it's not going to last. I will say (the contractor) worked with all of us. They tried to keep us in mind and inform us as to what was going on. But the issues, other than that, were overwhelming."

Making matters worse, Bixler added, is that water leaks from a water main under the street, and the paving turned Dewell into a one-way street.

"They said that they're coming back in late spring or early summer to (remove) two inches of asphalt and add two inches to compensate for the issue," he explained.

Another hilly street, Pine Ridge Avenue, was scheduled for repaving last year but will now happen this year; based on the potholes and cracks visible there, an new asphalt later is definitely needed.

Crews also squeezed in two more projects before the end of 2024: Widening and repaving Highway 67 between Valley View Drive and Lovell Gulch Road on the north end of town; and repairing the paved Centennial Trail adjacent to the highway.