Subdivision spared as road work starts

The only access road into a rural Teller County subdivision, weakened by recent downpours, remained intact through the rainy weekend, and crews today will begin shoring it up.

Turkey Creek Drive was seriously damaged when heavy rains July 16 broke the dams of several ponds in the Turkey Rock Ranch subdivision west of West Creek on Colorado Highway 67.

The dirt road, which also serves as a dam, was able to contain the pond closest to the roadway, but it suffered serious erosion that threatened to crumble it. If the road collapsed, it could prevent access to about 100 homes and cabins in the western portion of the subdivision.

Barry Pflug, operations supervisor for Teller County's Transportation Department, said homeowners and the county have two pumps lowering the water in Elmer Pond, which came close to lapping over the road. Today, crews will use heavy equipment to shore up the road's crum- bling bank on the opposite side of the pond.

He said it would be a few days before he could estimate how long the job would take.

Pflug's boss, transportation director Curt Logsdon, has estimated it will take about $500,000 to repair the road.

The three-day storm that began July 16 caused washouts and road closures in many areas of Teller County, particularly in the Hayman fire burn area.

The wildfire in 2002, the largest in the state's history, denuded many steep mountainsides in the Pike National Forest of vegetation that normally holds back and absorbs runoff.

The Teller County commissioners imposed a state of emergency after the storm in hopes of getting access to state and federal money to make road repairs.

Pflug said heavy rains this weekend caused additional road damage in the Florissant area and in the Hayman burn area south of Turkey Rock Ranch.

No new road closures have been reported.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0197 or mckeown@gazette.com

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