The Highway Section's primary mission is to protect the taxpayer's investment in the infrastructure system that transports people and goods (the road network) and stormwater (the drainage system). Maintenance of the infrastructure system is the basic method used to keep it safe, reliable and efficient. Operations such as snow removal, ice control, flood repairs and other emergency response are also necessary to keep the road network and drainage system in good working order.
The truck string is responsible for hauling material during graveling operations of all County roads. At any given time, depending on the job, they can haul up to two thousand tons of material a day. Drivers operate tandem dump trucks, tractor trailers, end-loaders and various other pieces of heavy equipment. They haul water as needed to provide moisture to hold the gravel roads together in order to prevent surface degradation, shoulder drop off, and for dust abatement. The truck string is responsible for hauling material and equipment from job to job. They also play a key role hauling material during the chip sealing season each summer.
The maintenance crew is responsible for many different types of jobs including mowing the County right-of-way, tree trimming and removal, repairing and replacing snow fence, picking up adopt-a-road trash bags, and dead animal removal. They also support all the other crews when needed.
These employees process an average of 725 service requests per year, cut approximately 3,000 miles of County right-of-way each summer, and work with communities who develop community fire protection plans.
The sign crew installs and repairs signs throughout El Paso County. They maintain over 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 over 700 customer service requests per year.
The signal crew maintains nearly 50 traffic signals and 32 school zone flasher systems.
The concrete crew performs curb, gutter and sidewalk maintenance and repairs.
The urban drainage crews are responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and repair of all County-owned urban drainage systems that include detention ponds, drainage channels, right-of-way ditches, curb and gutter, and pipe structures. These two crews work on an average of 10 service requests per week each year, as well as perform normal maintenance assignments. Detention ponds and channels are set up to be checked out and cleaned when needed each year.
The construction crew is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and repair of all County bridges and guardrail. This crew is assigned the task of inspecting hundreds of guardrail sections each year and keeping them in good working order, along with emergency repairs due to accidents. State and County inspectors look at all County-owned bridges over a two-year cycle and make lists of repairs needed for each bridge. This maintenance includes deck replacements, sand blast and painting, abutment repairs, wing wall repairs, and debris removal under each structure.
All El Paso County Highway Section employees are assigned to snow removal. During snow removal and emergency operations, the Highway Section organizes geographically into two separate shifts to conduct continuous 24-hour operations, if necessary. Snow removal crews clear over 2,000 miles of snow during the winter months...a continuous effort during some storms.
The Highway Section works closely with the Engineering Division to ensure that the citizens of El Paso County get the best possible service.
The rural drainage crew is responsible for repair and upkeep of open drainage and drainage structures in the County right-of-way. This group operates tendem dump trucks, backhoes, Badger grade-alls, and skid-steer loaders. Drainage employees work throughout the County installing culvert pipes as needed as well as culvert replacements resulting from constant calls for service due to the aging structures that have deteriorated over the years for roads built in the 1940s. These crews also clean plugged cross pipes that get filled with tumble weeds and silt sand.
Rural grader crews consist of blade operators in four different locations: Calhan, Peyton, Ellicott, and Truckton. The grader operators are responsible for approximately 65 miles of gravel and 30 miles of pavement each. Every operator is responsible for the maintenance of their area. They keep the roads smooth, remove hazards, and repair damaged areas caused by adverse weather. The crews maintain approximately 1,000 miles of roadway.
During the summer months the same operators perform various jobs in addition to routine maintenance of assigned areas. They perform dust control, mowing, and drainage preparation, and road rebuild before a road is to be graveled. The crews also respond to hundreds of service requests each year including muddy roads, dust, flooding, snow, trash removal, weeds, fires, and accidents. Other responsibilities include operating rollers, water trucks, front-end loaders, dump trucks, snow blowers, and performing as flaggers for construction jobs.
Urban grader crews consist of blade operators stationed at four different locations: Fountain, Falcon, Black Forest and Monument, and each operator is responsible for approximately 45 miles of gravel and 45 miles of pavement each. During the summer months the same operators perform various jobs in addition to routine maintenance of assigned areas. They keep the roads smooth, remove hazards, and repair damaged areas caused by adverse weather.
During the summer months the same operators perform various jobs in addition to routine maintenance of assigned areas. They perform dust control, drainage preparation and road rebuild before a road is to be graveled. The crews also respond to hundreds of service requests each year including muddy roads, dust, flooding, snow, trash removal, weeds, fires, and accidents. Other responsibilities include operating rollers, water trucks, front-end loaders, dump trucks, snow blowers, and performing as flaggers for construction jobs.
The asphalt crew and street sweepers are responsible for maintaining over 2,000 miles of rural and urban asphalt roads in unincorporated El Paso County.
The asphalt crew is responsible for pothole repair, dig-outs, skin patching, crack sealing and chip seal projects. In a typical year they use 56,000 pounds of crack seal material and 3,000 tons of asphalt to maintain County roads. This crew closes about 1,000 customer service requests each year.
The street sweepers conduct regular maintenance, support, and seasonal maintenance consisting of sweeping after a snow or rain event, and fall leaf clean up. In a typical year, more than 10,700 lane miles of road is swept by this crew. They often close about 350 service requests each year.