Ellicott Highway at Brackett Creek crossing closing Monday for flood damage repair
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — On Monday, for the second time in a week, officials have closed a road at a creek crossing to repair damage caused by flooding in June 2023.
The closure became effective just before 8 a.m.
It’s a situation that KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior has been following since repairs began late last year.
The latest closure is on Ellicott Highway across Brackett Creek, just north of the Falcon Highway intersection; it’s on a road that carries more, faster traffic and requires the largest amount of repair work.
Officials said that the road segment will remain closed until July 11.
Creek flooding covered the road and caused significant erosion damage; in addition to widening and stabilizing the channel, crews will install two large culverts under the road to convey creek drainage, install structures to slow the velocity of stormwater, and repave the damaged road segment with concrete.
Last week, the county also closed Garrett Road at the Black Squirrel Creek crossing near JD Johnson Road, to build a low-water crossing there; that closure continues until June 13.
On the same day last week, the JD Johnson creek crossing — just around the corner — reopened after construction of a similar structure.
Several neighbors wonder if the low-water crossings are the best solutions.
“I think it’ll be OK,” said Tiffany Severson. “I mean, it still seems like a temporary fix. Because in heavy rain the dirt road’s not gonna wash out, but the road is still gonna flood. And then they’re still gonna have to close it.”
Meanwhile, Luke and Mallory DeVries said that they can endure the detours as long as they know the damaged roads are being repaired — and they’ve even received some help from construction workers.
“The company that’s doing this build here on Garrett, they were kind enough to move dirt over to our lane — which is a private road — to enable us to smooth out the road and fill some gigantic potholes,” Luke explained. “So, that was kinda nice.”
His wife agrees.
“It has definitely made me re-think how I get around, because I don’t get around very well without GPS,” she said. “Hopefully, there will be no more big storms like that.”
The county is spending $8 million — mostly federal funds — on the repairs.