Maintenance

Road and Bridge performs regular maintenance to the county's gravel-surfaced roads through grading and applying dust suppressant and surface hardener. This treatment provides a smoother ride for longer periods of time and eliminates most airborne dust particles that can aggravate existing respiratory problems in humans and animals. Dust suppressant and surface hardening minimizes the amount of fugitive dust particles and loose gravel released from road surfaces and reduces the cost of keeping road surfaces safe for the traveling public. Eagle County uses an efficient dust suppressant notable for its high quality and low environmental impact, both in terms of production and usage. The product meets PM-10 regulations for use in environmentally-sensitive areas.

County gravel roads are treated for dust suppression as much as twice a year. Select roads receive new gravel applications where gravel has broken down and/or has been thrown off of the surface by traffic and snow removal procedures.

Residents will be notified a week prior to dust suppressant applications in their areas whenever possible.

Road and Bridge performs routine maintenance on all the county's asphalt roads. Most common maintenance consists of patching deteriorated areas by cutting out damage and replacing with hot asphalt in the summer months, or a temporary-fix cold mix asphalt during the winter months. The county's Engineering Department uses a pavement management program to determine the timeline for maintenance projects.

Road and Bridge performs maintenance to many U.S. Forest Service and BLM roads. This maintenance agreement consists of the county providing once yearly grading on selected roads and dust abatement on the Sylvan Lake Road, Yeoman Park Road, and Deep Creek Road.

Road striping is performed once-per-year with the exception of high traffic intersections which are painted twice-per-year. The paint is applied mid-summer when the temperatures are ideal for quick curing of the paint.

The guardrail along many of Eagle County's rural roads is inspected monthly and repaired/replaced as needed annually. New guardrail is installed at select areas determined by safety concerns. The guardrail work is performed by an outside contractor selected by a sealed bid process and the work normally occurs late summer.

Eagle County's roads are swept on an as-needed basis but the majority of the sweeping occurs in the spring. In the residential areas a sweeper picks up leftover sanding material from the winter months and other weather-related or traffic debris. The material is then transported to the landfill and used to supplement the cover material used to cover solid waste.

Road and Bridge works closely with the county's Engineering Department to maintain standards in keeping with Uniform Traffic Control Devices and Colorado Department of Transportation specifications. Signs are monitored and replaced or repaired at a minimum according to their retro reflectivity, height, location, application, and necessity. A traffic engineer with the Engineering Department determines location and need for new sign placements.

In addition to the regularly-scheduled maintenance, all Eagle County roads are regularly monitored for maintenance issues such as culvert pipe cleaning, roadside ditch drainage, brush and weed control, and rock and mudslide removal. Road and Bridge also maintains a portion of the core trail system that runs from Hillcrest Drive to Miller Ranch Road. This section of the trail is maintained at the same level as all roads.

Roads are categorized on a priority basis and the roads with the higher priorities are plowed first such as school bus routes and access to emergency services. Although the snow removal crews normally begin clearing the roads around 3 a.m., some of the lower priority roads such as cul-de-sacs may not be cleared until later in the morning.

1. Open the roads by plowing and sanding
2. Return later to clean up, widen, and sand again if necessary.
3. General sanding of bus stops, intersections, and hills.

1. School bus routes, major arterials including mail routes and access to emergency services
2. Residential collector streets and access to schools and business areas
3. Residential collector streets and streets providing access to arterials
4. Non-priority roadways: local, residential and other streets not specifically identified in the priority system. Except for emergency situations, equipment will not be directed to non-priority streets until all priority one, two, and three roadways have been cleared. Additional priorities have been established for intersections, hills, and other problem areas.

• Snow removal crews begin work in the very early morning; usually 3 to 4 a.m. and continue until all routes are complete.
• School bus and emergency routes (priority one roads) are plowed first. Side streets or residential collector streets, school and business access, and lesser-traveled streets such as cul-de-sacs are plowed next (priority two and three roads). Depending on weather conditions, it may be later in the day before the priority two and priority three roads are plowed.
• Use patience with the snow removal process and drive with caution around equipment.
• Educate children about the dangers of playing near snow removal equipment and discourage the building of forts or caves in snow banks.
• Wear reflective clothing if you are jogging or walking along a road in darkness.
• Wait to shovel driveways until after the snowplows have finished and do not put snow or any other debris in the roadway. (Colorado Revised Statute section 18-9-107).
• Do not place trash cans in roadway. Try if at all possible to keep trash can at the edge of the driveway. Trash cans in the road impede traffic, make snow removal difficult and can cause dangerous driving conditions. Please retrieve empty trash cans as soon as possible.
• Be aware that it is illegal to park on county-maintained roads or in the county road right-of-way.
• The county right-of-way normally extends approximately ten feet off the edge of the road which generally extends into the property owner’s landscaping. The right-of-way is intended to be used for snow storage, so it is therefore not recommended that any valuable landscaping be placed within this area. Plantings and other valuable landscaping items may be damaged by snow removal equipment and the weight of the snow. It is the responsibility of the property owner to repair and maintain landscaping within the right-of-way.
• Unfortunately, each plowing operation during a snowstorm may result in a berm of snow across driveways, or even encroachments to county roads. Due to time and personnel restraints, the county does not have the resources to keep driveways clear. The responsibility of these snow berms falls on the individual resident, and not on the county.

Complaints, concerns, or suggestions may be directed to the Eagle County Road and Bridge Department at 970-328-3540.

• Eagle County Road and Bridge performs snow removal with the use of snowplows and a sand /salt mixture for vehicle traction. The sand and salt is mixed at a ratio of 95 percent sand to 5 percent salt. The salt is added primarily to aid in the prevention of the sand stockpiles from freezing solid but also acts as a de-icer. Eagle County Road and Bridge does not use magnesium chloride as a de-icer on the roads in the winter.
• Eagle County Road and Bridge snowplows are white trucks with blue stripes, not to be confused with the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) orange trucks.
• A common misconception is that Eagle County Road and Bridge maintains Colorado Highway 6 and Interstate 70 which are actually the responsibility of CDOT. For information on road conditions see the CDOT website.

• Eagle County uses a variety of snow removal equipment from large motor graders and loaders to pickup-sized plows and skid-steer loaders.
• All of the Eagle County snow removal equipment has the Eagle County logo on the vehicle.