Asphalt paving project ends muddy road controversy on Glider Loop in El Paso County
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Rainy weather that had been a problem on the mile-long Glider Loop, just south of Black Forest, ended up being somewhat of a blessing in the past two weeks.
It influenced crews to change their initial plan to place a double chip-seal pavement and instead pave the road with asphalt.
Crews are putting the final touches on the project, which Public Works Engineer Dan Gerhard said costs around $200,000 more than chip sealing, but will stabilize the road and eliminate the mud issue.
The chip-seal work was scheduled to begin several weekends ago, but was delayed by rain.
Gerhard said that when the project’s contractor returned, he decided he couldn’t guarantee an effective chip-seal application because of the wet gravel.
“Our fear was if we did chip it, and over time the chip seal kind of broke apart a little bit and moisture got down into that gravel, that maybe we would kind of end up in the same spot, like we were on Myers Road this summer,” he explained.
In that project, the county chip-dealed three miles of the weather-damaged road.
It was a year ago this month that neighbors began contacting KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior about slick and muddy conditions on Glider Loop that created a mess and caused drivers to get stuck or slide off the road.
Those neighbors blamed the conditions on what they described as a clay-based gravel applied by the county that drained less effectively than sand-based gravel.
“I actually got injured walking down the road,” said neighbor Gil Szaraz. “I slipped, fell into the ditch, and broke a piece of bone off my heel. In fact, I just finished physical therapy for that.”
Gerhard recently disputed neighbors’ criticisms and said that crews applied material approved by the state.
However, he added that it remains unclear why Glider Loop was so muddy in wet weather, although gravel roads in different parts of the county can respond to moisture differently.
Around a dozen residents live along the road, which connects to Vollmer Road at both ends.
The Road Warrior spoke with three homeowners who said that they don’t like the new asphalt and prefer the road as it was.
However, most are happy with the new pavement.
“I really am glad that they did this,” neighbor Evelyn Billek said. “I don’t know why anybody would want to complain about it. We’re in the county, and we’ve got a paved road! What more can we ask for?”
Gerhard said that the county has extra funds in its annual road maintenance budget for unexpected situations and emergencies.
But it’ll be interesting to see if the floodgates open, so to speak, over time, with asphalt paving requests from other residents of muddy gravel roads.