El Paso County transportation infrastructure needs are managed through the combined efforts of Engineering and the Highway Division. These two groups are responsible for a network consisting of more than 2,100 miles of paved and gravel roads, drainage systems, 260-plus bridges, and related right-of-way assets.
Road and Bridge
Engineering is responsible for Road and Bridge standards and compliance; capital investment, maintenance and rehabilitation program planning; funding and construction execution; coordination of private sector development review processes; and long-range transportation network planning. The Major Transportation Corridors Plan outlines multiregional and multimodual planning for the County’s transportation system. Engineering also handles all aspects of stormwater management to ensure County compliance with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System regulations.
The Highway Division provides maintenance and repair of County roads and bridges, drainages, signs and signals, and right-of-way work — including mowing, debris removal, and tree trimming. Snow and ice removal utilizes all employees of the Highway Division and all plows, graders, and chemical trucks to keep County roads safe and passable. The Adopt-a-Road program is a partnership with citizens. Participating citizens agree to pick up litter from both sides of a two-mile stretch of a County road at least four times a year. In turn, participants receive recognition in the form of a sign at each end of the adopted section of roadway, giving credit for the citizen/group contribution to the community.
Crack Sealing
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew is responsible for maintaining paved roads within its jurisdiction.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized and scheduled for completion.
Crack sealing is completed from October to May because temperature plays a significant part in proper application. A crack sealing maintenance schedule is followed to assist with upkeep of roads during those months.
Every paved road in El Paso County has cracks, the only exceptions to that are the roads that were paved in the last few weeks. By this time next year, those roads will have cracks as well. Asphalt like concrete tends to shrink as it ages, causing it to crack.
In a perfect world a crew would come out right away, fill the crack with a rubber-like material that will prevent moisture from getting in under the road surface causing a soft spot and an eventual pothole. Crack sealing needs to be preformed when the ground temperature is around 40 degrees, this is the time when the asphalt has contracted due to the cold and the cracks are at their widest. Crack sealing cannot be completed when the ground is wet since the material will not stick.
If the work is done in warmer weather, the cracks will expand enough that when the weather cools off the material will not stretch enough and will split, ruining the seal. Another warm weather problem is that the material takes too long to set. The sticky material then either forces the crew to keep the road closed for a longer period of time, or if traffic gets on to the material too soon it sticks to tires, ruins the job and creates a tremendous mess. If you do happen to get crack seal material stuck to your tires, an “orange” type cleaner or WD-40 can help get it off.
The El Paso County Department of Public Works started a new program using a “mastic” product. The mastic is like conventional crack seal except it has grit like material mixed in with it. It is used specifically on cracks wider than 1.5 inches. County crews are seeing some promising results on the wide cracks that they have not been able to repair with the conventional material.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Dead Animal Removal
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division is responsible for removing dead animals from El Paso County roadways and right-of-ways throughout the county. Animals that will be removed include cat-size creatures and larger. Regulated livestock, such as cattle and horses, will be removed from the roadway, and the brand inspector will be notified if the owner is not known. If the owner of livestock is known, he/she will be responsible for the animal’s removal. Prioritization of dead animal removal is to remove animals from the lanes of travel as soon as personnel can be dispatched. Animals that are not in the roadway are normally removed within one working day of reporting, and those reported Thursday through Sunday or on holidays are collected on the following regular work day.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Drainage Maintenance
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew works to provide the cleaning and repair of county culverts and county ditches. Public Works will flush and clean culverts that are under El Paso County maintained roads, and will clean ditches that are in the county “right of way”.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized and scheduled for completion. Prioritization of these requests is determined on potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
A maintenance schedule is followed to assist with upkeep of roads. A foreman will check the location to ascertain the severity, type of repair and/or resources needed to make repairs. Prioritization will then be given to requests based on safety risk or the severity of the drainage concern, and then personnel/equipment will be assigned to make repairs based on available resources and current weather conditions.
Citizen inputs a service request including their contact information, the address and/or location of repair (North, South, between which intersections) and what is needed. The “whole road” is not the best way to get the service request finished due to the lengths of and segmented parts of some roads.
When will County Ditches be cleaned?
The decisions of when ditches will be cleaned and which culverts will be flushed will be based on the number of service requests taken, maintenance costs, average condition of each road, existing surfacing and staff recommendations. Those ditches are then prioritized by severity of need and available resources. Due to the large number of ditches in El Paso County, it may take some time for a request to make it to the top of the maintenance list.
Note: it is the homeowner’s responsibility to clean and maintain the culvert (or culverts) that is under their driveway and including 10 feet on each side.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Dumping Trash
Dumping trash is illegal.
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew assists with the removal of trash illegally dumped in the County right-of-way upon request.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized and scheduled for completion.
Please provide a location and the type of trash. Every effort is made to identify illegal dumpers, and if found, they will be referred to law enforcement for legal action.
If you are interested in the County’s Adopt-a-Road program, information can be found here.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Guardrails
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew works to maintain guardrails within its jurisdiction. The County repairs guardrails that have been hit due to an accident or has missing parts. Missing parts can include the following; guardrail blocks, bolts, abutment markers, reflectors, broken post and end treatments.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized and scheduled for completion. Please include the nearest location or street name, direction (north, south, etc.) and what type of repair is needed. Prioritization of these requests is determined on potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
A maintenance schedule is also followed. Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Median / Right-of-Way Maintenance
A roadway median strip is the area that separates opposing lanes of traffic. The median can be a natural area, a landscaped area or be hardscaped with manmade structures such as signs or barriers. The Right-of-Way (ROW) of the road is the total width of property that has been dedicated for a given roadway. ROWs may be developed or undeveloped and may include trees, fences, signs and drainage structures to name a few examples. Requests for median/ROW maintenance may include fences, barriers, graffiti or other structures not included in other service request types. Prioritization of these requests is determined on potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Mowing
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew does not mow all roads in the county due to budget and manpower limitations. Current resources allow for mowing approximately ten feet of the shoulder on either side of the road. The width of mowing may be less if terrain and/or obstacles are in the way. Mowing is completed during the growing season from April to October.
You may submit an online Customer Service Request for mowing through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
These Customer Service Requests will be reviewed by personnel, prioritized, and scheduled for completion. If mowing is requested, please provide the road name (including cross street or location) and description of what needs to be cut. Mowing requests for areas not on the current El Paso County mowing list will remain open, and may be completed after all the listed roads are completed (weather and resources permitting). At the end of the mowing season, all remaining mowing requests will be closed as unable to serve.
Personal Property Damage
If your personal property, such as mailboxes and vehicles, has been damaged by County personnel/equipment, please contact El Paso County Risk Management at (719) 520-7486.
Pothole Repair
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division works to repair potholes. Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized and scheduled for completion. Prioritization of these requests is determined on potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
County crews try to respond to service requests within a week of receipt, but work volume, equipment availability, weather, and priority can delay repairs.
A maintenance schedule is also followed; however, weather plays a factor for scheduling road maintenance.
El Paso County has its fair share of potholes caused by a variety of things, such as moisture under the surface, poor sub surface material and the natural freeze and thaw cycle. When the asphalt crew receives a service request, the first thing they do is to evaluate the conditions: Is this a problem that could cause damage or an accident? Can it wait until we get a few more requests in the same area so we can increase our efficiency and fix a number of potholes at one time?
Weather plays a factor in how good the repair is and how long it lasts. The crews will repair the problem in rain or snow, but when they do that, they know that the patch will probably not last very long, and they will have to return to the same spot and redo it. Quick fixes are done for safety’s sake as they cannot leave the pothole open until the weather improves. Asphalt repair should not be completed at temperatures less than 40 degrees, but of course the crews cannot wait until the weather warms up and thus will have to be redone at a later time.
Some of the trucks have heated beds but that does not help with the ground temperature. Once the material hits the cold, ground the crews only have a very short time to smooth the patch out and compact it before the material becomes unworkable. “Cold mix” asphalt is used in the winter, but it is either very expensive or the cheaper bulk type does not provide a sustainable patch.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Road Striping
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew is responsible for maintaining paved roads within its jurisdiction.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized, and scheduled for completion.
The crew has a restriping schedule with a goal to restripe every two years. Crosswalks and stop bars are inspected and remarked as needed.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Shoulder Maintenance
The shoulder of a road is the area immediately alongside the driving surface of the road not intended for through traffic. The shoulder may be paved, gravel, or a combination of materials. The width varies based on the type of road and the topography, but when available, it is normally used as an emergency stopping area for vehicles. Call for service not included in other service request types may include abandoned vehicles or wheel ruts. Prioritization of shouldering requests is determined by potential threat to public safety.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Signs and Signals
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew works to install and repair signs and signals throughout its jurisdiction.
Each service request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized, and scheduled for completion. Prioritization of these requests is determined by potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
A maintenance schedule is also followed to allow the crew to maintain over 50,000 traffic and street signs, as well as nearly 50 traffic signals to include 32 school zone systems.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Street Lights
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew works to maintain “street lights” that are directly over traffic lights which are county maintained. If they are not over the traffic lights, please call the power company for that area.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized, and scheduled for completion. Prioritization of these requests is determined by potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
Please include the intersection and corner where the light is located.
A maintenance schedule is followed.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Street Signage
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division maintains most signs in the county right-of-way of its jurisdiction.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized and scheduled for completion. ‘Stop’, ‘Yield’, and weight limit signs will be responded to within 24 hours. All other signs will be repaired as schedule allows. Please include the location, type of sign, and describe what needs to be completed: leaning, lying on the ground, or missing.
A maintenance schedule is also followed.
The sign crew installs and repairs signs throughout El Paso County’s jurisdiction. They maintain more than 50,000 traffic and street signs within the County. They are currently working to upgrade the retroreflectivity of all County-owned signs. They are also responsible for the annual traffic paint striping program. The sign crew completes more than 700 customer service requests per year.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Street Sweeping
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew works to provide street sweeping services within its jurisdiction.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized, and scheduled for completion.
A maintenance schedule is followed.
El Paso County Department of Public Works currently has two “street sweepers” that crews call “pick up brooms” due to the fact that they actually pick up the material and load it into a hopper to be dumped into a truck or onto an approved site. The county also has two “construction brooms” or “open air brooms” that can only sweep the material off the road onto the shoulders or into “windrows” that can be picked up by one of the other machines.
With more than a thousand miles of paved roads to maintain there is a lot of road to keep clean. The street sweeping machines are constantly moving abrasive dirt and small rock into the machine and are usually in a cloud of dust (even with the water sprays going); this tends to make them high maintenance items.
Due to environmental concerns and stormwater regulations, the street sweepers can only dump in approved locations. El Paso County has only one approved location. This means that the sweepers have to have a large dump truck or two following them around so they can dump into the trucks, and the trucks, being faster and able to haul more material, can haul the dirt to the approved site.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Tree Brush Removal / Trimming
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crews work to remove and trim trees and vegetation that unsafely limit site distances at maintained intersections or impede our maintenance.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized, and scheduled for completion.
Each request is inspected to confirm need. Requests should include the type of cutting or trimming, a concise location, and contact information.
In the event of destructive weather, trees that fall from a privately owned lot onto the roadway will be cut back to clear the road. The property owner is responsible for clearing the remainder of his/her tree. In such an emergency, El Paso County will initially only open one lane for emergency vehicle access, and will return as resources permit to complete clearing of the road.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
Washouts
The El Paso County Department of Public Works’ Highway Division crew works to repair road washouts due to adverse weather conditions within its jurisdiction.
Each Service Request is reviewed by personnel, prioritized based upon safety risk or severity, and scheduled for completion where possible. Prioritization of these requests is determined on potential threat to public safety or continued damage to public or private property.
Work is assigned to a foreman or operator to check the location and ascertain the severity, type of repair, and resources needed to make repairs. Prioritization will then be given to requests based on safety risk or the severity of the washout, and then assigned equipment to make repairs based on available resources. When a citizen makes a Service Request, they should give the nearest address or intersection.
Submit an online Customer Service Request through our Citizen Connect process, or download the app “El Paso County Citizen Connect” from the Apple Store or Google Play.
