COLORADO SPRINGS — It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know the roads in Colorado Springs need some work. But it does take an elementary schooler. Just ask Charlotte Moore, a Rockrimmon Elementary Student.
“There are a lot of potholes and cracks, especially by my house,” said Moore.
That’s why the city is working to fix residential roads and those surrounding elementary schools next. It’s the next phase of the 2C Project, a voter-approved project that has been repairing the city’s roads for several years.
“Residential roadways are going to be our big focus. Of our infrastructure, well over half of our over 6,000 lane miles are in residential roadways,” said Corey Farkas, the city’s public works operations and maintenance division manager.
Deciding which roads to fix next isn’t an easy process. That is why the city has used a roadway collection vehicle to help collect data. From detecting if there is a bump in the road to snapping videos of surrounding infrastructure, this vehicle is a big help.
“Bringing this technology into the city really took what would take us four years, we were able to do in a matter of four months,” said Farkas.
One thing is certain, people like Charlotte are looking forward to the road improvements coming to Colorado Springs.
“I think it’s going to be way better for the community,” said Moore.
The city plans to use this vehicle again next year. The last time the vehicle was used was in 2017.
Before this technology, city inspectors could only evaluate a quarter of the city’s roads a year. That’s why this van is so helpful. It frees up inspectors so they can put more time into planning projects like 2C, getting our roads fixed quicker.
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