Residents of east Colorado Springs street say that past repairs leave it in dire need of repaving
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — When the next round of the 2C expanded street paving program starts in the spring, residents along Kern Street hope to be included.
Homeowner Dave Cozad hopes it’s sooner rather than later.
Cozad contacted KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior this summer about extremely bumpy conditions on Kern, a block-long street that has around 30 homes, west of Wooten Road on the city’s east side.
He described the pavement as “like a rollercoaster” for the past 20 years.
“When these houses were put in, they used clay tile, sewer lines, and, over the years, with the heaving and buckling of the soil, the clay tiles became misaligned and caused clogged sewers,” Cozad explained.
“Most of the houses on the street, on both sides, have had to have their sewer lines replaced from the house to the tap. And that’s why we see all these patches in the pavement here.”
Cozad said that getting answers from officials about repairing the street has been difficult.
“I talked to (city) streets (division), probably,” he recalled. “It’s probably been close to ten years ago. They came out and looked at it and said This is really not a streets problem. It appears to be more of a utilities problem. So, I then contacted (Colorado Springs) Utilities, and they came out and looked at it, and said This is old, and it really isn’t a utilities problem.”
Cozad stated that Kern was included on the 2022 paving list, but the work didn’t occur.
“There have been crews come out and do measuring and markings and stuff, but nothing’s ever happened with it,” he said. “So, I really don’t know where we are on the list with it.”
Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) said that a crew was in the area in February to inspect a wastewater sewer line replacement, but that the utility didn’t perform the installation.
CSU also said that such an installation would require a city permit that meets city requirements.
Kern Street is not on the city’s paving list for 2026 or 2027, and The Road Warrior will ask the city for comment on the matter.
However, a city public works manager understands the frustration expressed by citizens who feel that they’re waiting too long to have their streets repaved.
“We do have the potential to, possibly, add streets or move streets again, depending on coordination,” said Corey Farkas, who oversees operations and maintenance. “But we do ask people to let us know. Call us. Let us know. We’ve got other alternatives”.