El Paso County releases this year’s preliminary paving list. Here are some of the highlights.
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Officials plan to repave more than 40 roads and perform other types of surface treatments on another 160, in the recently-released proposed version of the 2026 paving list.
Joshua Palmer, the county’s head engineer, said the focus will continue to be on preservation — investing more resources to keep already-good roads in that same condition, and reducing the number of roads in poor condition that require more expensive rebuilds.
One example of preservation will happen on the eastern end of Constitution Avenue, covering 1.5 miles between Marksheffel Road and the Colorado Springs city limits, a block east of Tutt Boulevard.
Concerning asphalt paving, two of the four longest stretches are in the Hanover area, south of Fountain; that’s where crews will continue repairing roads damaged by age and weather extremes a year ago.
KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior provided extensive coverage of the situation.
Four miles of Hanover Road, between Meridian and Old Pueblo roads, will be repaved, as well as an equal length of Myers Road, between Finch and Squirrel Creek roads.
The first step in road repair is using a rubberized material to seal cracks in the pavement; the longest such project this year is nearly six miles of Falcon Highway, between Curtis and JD Johnson roads.
A future step involves a variety of sealing techniques, such as a chip seal — in which crews apply small rocks over a tar-like substance that hardens and extends the life of a road until it needs repaving.
Those materials can be applied separately or mixed in other versions, such as a cape seal or slurry seal, and extend the life of a road up to ten years before repaving is required.
Workers placed a double chip seal on the heaviest-damaged section of Myers Road after last year’s damage.
The longest stretch of chip seal work will be five miles of Ellicott Highway, between Judge Orr and Big Springs roads.
County commissioners still have to finalize approving the list.
To see the county’s 2026 paving list, visit: https://www.agendasuite.org/iip/elpaso/file/getfile/52146.