El Paso County changes plan, will repave muddy Glider Loop with asphalt instead of chip seal

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A dozen or so homeowners along a gravel road just south of Black Forest are finally getting what they've wanted all along.

Asphalt pavement to eliminate slick, muddy conditions in wet weather on Glider Loop.

County officials recently changed their original plan to apply a double chip-seal pavement to the mile-long road and to put down an asphalt layer instead.

Paving is scheduled to begin on Thursday.

Crews spent the past week scraping off the existing gravel layer and hauling it away in dump trucks, in a process similar to the milling of old asphalt.

According to some neighbors, the muddy conditions began after heavy rain a year ago.

Those neighbors believe that, in an attempt to resolve the problem, crews applied clay-based gravel that absorbs water instead of sand-based material that promotes drainage.

"I think this was trial and error," said neighbor Evelyn Billek. "A chip seal just wasn't going to work."

But Dan Gerhard, a county engineer, disagrees.

"We used material approved by CDOT (the Colorado Department of Transportation)," he said. "We don't really know why that road is so muddy. We do know that gravel roads react differently to moisture in different parts of the county."

KRDO 13's The Road Warrior will continue to follow the developments on Glider Loop.