Gravel Road Maintenance

1,000+ Miles of Gravel Roads

El Paso County maintains more than 2,000 miles of roadway—and over half of those miles are gravel roads. To keep them in good condition, the county divides these roads into 23 maintenance areas, each ranging from 20 to 90 miles.

Most gravel roads are serviced every six to eight weeks, with busier routes getting even more attention. Dedicated Public Works crews handle resurfacing, ditch cleaning, and shaping the road surface to keep it safe and drivable.

From spring through fall, crews are especially active, grading roads, reducing dust, and adding new gravel where needed. Most gravel roads are built with a center crown to help water drain properly, typically offering a 24-foot driving surface with 2-foot shoulders on each side.

Gravel roads track

What to Expect from Gravel Road Maintenance

  • Graveling. El Paso County road crews will regravel anywhere from 7 to 15 centerline miles of gravel roads each year. New gravel is trucked in from one of several gravel pits in the region. Crews prepare subgrade, clean and reshape ditches and cross/driveway culverts as needed, and will add or replace damaged culverts as required.
  • Grading. Most gravel roads are graded on a six to eight-week schedule. Moving around four mph, the graders go back and forth multiple times to smooth out the surface of 1,000 miles of roads, tallying up more than 17,000 miles traveled and 35,000 hours of work in a year. The goal when working on gravel roads is to re-establish a “crown” or cross-slope to the roadway, address drainage issues with the ditches, and regrade the surface to remove washboards and improve the overall condition.
  • Dust Abatement on Gravel Roads. El Paso County applies dust abatement to about 80 miles of higher-traffic gravel roads each year. Preparing and treating just one mile requires more than 5,600 gallons of dust-control product and 75,000 gallons of water. Before treatment, crews reshape the road, restore proper width, and reestablish a 4–6% crown to help water drain off the surface. Once treated, these roads typically require only one or two routine maintenance visits per year, helping keep them smoother, safer, and less dusty for drivers and nearby residents.

Gravel Road Maintenance Map

Road Conversion

Want to learn about how to upgrade your road from private ownership to public maintenance, or upgrade from a gravel to a paved road? Select the link below.

Road Conversion Information

Report an Issue

Select the link below to be taken to Citizen Connect, the County’s tool to report issues such as inoperable/unlicensed vehicles, property cleanup, potholes, graffiti, and more.

Report an Issue