El Paso County departments seek millions for roads, wildfire evacuation planning
Public Works seeks $7 million for pavement preservation and ongoing increases for road materials and fleet replacement; emergency management wants $90,000 for regional wildfire evacuation modeling.
Published at
El Paso County Public Works is seeking $7 million in one-time pavement funding and $675,000 in annual increases for fleet replacement and road materials as commissioners prepare the 2027 budget. The Office of Emergency Management is also seeking a one-time $90,000 contribution for wildfire and evacuation modeling software.
Commissioners made no budget decisions at their Oct. 27 workshop. The Nov. 10 budget direction hearing is the next scheduled opportunity for them to provide guidance, according to the workshop presentation and discussion.
Public Works Director Jack Ladley said the $7 million would fund pavement preservation on about 75 lane miles. Combined with $13 million from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and $5 million from the Road and Bridge Fund, it would bring annual pavement investment to about $25 million. Ladley estimated the additional work could improve the county’s pavement condition index by 0.5 to 0.75 points. Without the added investment, he warned, pavement conditions could decline and repairs could be deferred, potentially raising future costs.
The department’s other requests address rising operating costs. Ladley said the recurring $275,000 fleet-replacement increase would help maintain the existing replacement cycle, not expand the fleet. He cited cost increases since 2019 of about 54% for medium- and heavy-duty equipment and nearly 51% for light vehicles, and said delayed replacements can mean higher maintenance costs, more downtime and less reliability.
The recurring $400,000 increase for road-and-bridge materials would cover supplies such as asphalt, gravel and anti-skid material. Ladley said some material costs had risen more than 50% since 2019 and Class 5 gravel had more than doubled. He described the request as a way to maintain current maintenance production, not expand it.
The Office of Emergency Management’s presentation describes Ladris Core as regional wildfire and evacuation modeling software. Its simulations can help planners identify communities at risk, estimate evacuation timelines, and spot hazard areas and traffic bottlenecks.
Commissioners also discussed the cost of maintaining gravel roads and when paving might make sense. Final budget action is expected in December.