Commissioners Seeking Solutions to an Expensive Fix

RIDGWAY – After receiving complaints from residents, the Ouray County Commissioners acknowledged on Monday that the potholes and road damage that line the first three miles of County Road 1 at Colona need to be fixed as soon as possible. While a permanent fix is desired, the county’s very tight budget combined with the expensive nature of the repairs will only allow a temporary fix.

“We need to let people know that we recognize that there is a permanent fix,” on the horizon, Commissioner Keith Meinert said at Monday’s BOCC meeting in Ridgway. “The reason we are not pursuing it is because we don’t have the money.”

The commissioners discussed drafting an informational letter/article to the public that details the problems with the roadbed that will cost $110,000 to repair. They want to make it clear that county staff has not been ignoring the issue and that Road and Bridge staff have been doing their best to temporarily fill the potholes.

The commissioners also expressed some displeasure that a road damage sign placed in the vicinity of the potholes, which was borrowed from the Colorado Department of Transportation, was vandalized and that the county is going to have to pay for the sign.

Road and Bridge Superintendent Chris Miller said he has tried at least four different materials to fill the potholes. While some have worked better than others, none have held up for long periods of time. “I am tired of it,” he said.

“People have been dealing with it for so long, it is an unfortunate and dangerous situation,” Commissioner Lynn Padgett said. “We need to let people know that we are pursuing options and alternatives.”

Meinert suggested that staff gather information to release to the public about what the cost of the permanent fix would be in general, and specifically explain what Road and Bridge staff is doing to cope with the situation until permanent repairs can be made.

County Administrator Connie Hunt said that staff is already gathering that information for the upcoming Nov. 12-presentation of the county’s application for a roughly $16 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant that would be used to repair and pave CR 1 between Colona and State Highway 62.

Commissioner Heidi Albritton agreed that such information would be useful at that discussion but she would prefer to get it out ahead of time so the presentation doesn’t focus too much on the pothole problem.

The Nov. 12 presentation on the TIGER grant application will be held at the Ouray County 4-H Even Center in Ridgway at 6:30 p.m. To read Albritton’s encouragement for public participation at the Nov. 12 meeting, visit the letters to the editor page.