El Paso County to repave part of Furrow Road near Monument, but decides against roundabout recommendation

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A mile-long stretch of Furrow Road, just east of the Monument town limits and south of Highway 105, has two distinct segments: the older, northern section of around three-fourths of a mile, and a new extension to Higbee Road that opened in the past year.

County officials plan to repave the older section this summer, at a cost of $600,000; that section is crumbling and has many potholes and cracks.

"We're going to mill and overlay the entire stretch from Highway 105 down to the Lamplight Drive/Minglewood Trail intersection," said Joshua Palmer, the county's head engineer. "We're going to put in the permanent striping, which is going to be 11-foot lanes with a six foot, non-motorized shoulder on the west side of Furrow Road. So, (for) pedestrian traffic bikes, things like that. Keep all the signs that we currently have."

Neighbors agree that the paving is badly needed, but they disagree with the county's decision to hold off on building roundabouts on Furrow.

"As far as the road being paved, it's a good idea because the road's a mess," said Lark Haines, who lives along Furrow Road. "But it's a bad idea because the road being a mess slows people down a little. Paving it will only encourage people to drive faster."

In 2021, the county paid a consultant to study safety improvements on Furrow — which is a narrow, winding, hilly road — in response to neighbors' concerns about speeding traffic.

Among the consultant's recommendations was to construct three roundabouts on Furrow at the following intersections: Lamplight Drive/Minglewood Trail, Lamplight at the north end of its circular configuration, and Metcalf Lane.

The consultant also recommended building a center median between the proposed roundabouts.

However, for a variety of reasons — including cost — the county decided against the roundabouts and chose other measures that they say are working well, such as narrowing the lanes on Furrow to a width of 11 feet, and posting more signs to alert drivers to the speed limit, steep grades or other road matters.

That doesn't please safety-minded neighbors like Betty Stout, who fears that a serious or deadly crash is inevitable.

"It's kinda like a race track up and down," she said. "Since we don't have sidewalks, we have a lot of people walking, walking their dogs, their kids, kids on bicycles. It's really dangerous."

County officials said that they will continue to monitor traffic speeds and volumes and will consider roundabouts as a possible future option.

Meanwhile, Haines said that she'll continue to go on her daily walks carrying a paper 30 mph sign.

"Does it slow people down?" she said. "A few. Some people speed up when they get to me. One driver screeched to a stop and shouted profanity at me. (The sign) helps a little. Hopefully, it's a reminder to some."