Some — but not all — street dips removed from Jerry Murphy Road in Pueblo but controversy continues
Scott Harrison
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — People who drive or live along Jerry Murphy Road on the city’s northeast side have noticed that street “dips” at two adjacent intersections were lowered recently, but not for the reasons they hoped for.
As KRDO 13’s “The Road Warrior” reported in February, the dips at several intersections along the road were built before current construction standards; they are designed to help drainage flow into storm drain inlets which are several blocks apart.
However, the dips are very bumpy for vehicles to drive over and often cause vehicles to scrape their undersides on the pavement.
Neighbors believe that the dips also pose a safety concern because drivers traveling too fast have lost control, hitting the dips and crashing into parked vehicles, yards, and even houses.
Derrick Camus and Debbye Duran-Camus said that they had a close call with a drunk driver.
“It came through here, took out the side of our house here, and I was sleeping in that bedroom — and the wall that it came in was about that far from my sleeping head,” Debbye recalled. “So, this is a dangerous area.
Concerned neighbors and drivers want all of the dips removed, but the city lowered them only at the Glenmore Road and Taos Road intersections.
That change, the city explained, was made as part of a requirement to meet federal disability standards for pedestrians crossing the intersection.
Concrete slabs known as cross pans had cracked along the dips, and repairs increased safety for pedestrians, as well as improving drainage.
The city also installed new curbs, gutters, and sidewalks around the intersections for added safety.
The dips are near Haaff Elementary School, and many students and parents walk through the area to get to and from school.
Drivers should be aware that the lowered dips don’t make the street entirely flat, so drivers should proceed cautiously over them.
The Road Warrior noticed that many drivers are doing exactly that because they’re accustomed to it.
However, the city stated that the most effective solution to reduce crashes caused by the remaining dips is for drivers to slow down.
“We weren’t going in there to put it in for traffic concerns or anything like that,” said Chuck Roy, the city’s acting public works director. “This was really just for walkability and for getting the water across the road.”
Some residents didn’t know the reason for the lowered dips until they saw The Road Warrior’s live coverage on Tuesday morning.
“Thank you for your piece on the Jerry Murphy dips,” Gayle Rovertson wrote in an email to The Road Warrior. It answered several questions I had. But what about the bad cracks and potholes on Jerry Murphy?”
The city plans to repave Jerry Murphy next year, at the earliest.