Dear Editor,

Whether creating a new road or fixing an existing one, you start at the bottom, and build up, using appropriate material, correctly placed, not try to fix what is wrong from the top down. To improve South Beaver Creek Road, the County needs to dig up a few of the soft spots in order to determine the depth of the liquefiable soil (dirt that can hold a lot of water and doesn't drain easily) and that soil needs to be removed. By doing so the County can determine the location of the geologic formation beneath the existing road that will be the foundation for any new road.

South Beaver Creek Road has been under construction since the first humans started following the game trail next to the creek. Every change in usage that required a wider track meant that more of the easily moved soil became part of the trail. Since that time the need for a wider more supportive path has changed to include many more vehicles up to tractor-trailer rigs with loads weighing up to forty tons and more.

Each of these vehicle operators expects a smooth, well maintained surface to drive on. Most of these drivers don't realize their driving on liquefiable soil and don't care. In order to address this need for a smooth, well maintained surface, it has been suggested that Gilpin County use asphalt either as chips from one source or new asphalt laid down by machine. Neither is a good idea.

Asphalt contractors are, I think, required to guarantee both product and installation. When they look at the South Beaver Creek Road and realize the condition it is in, including the areas of obvious liquefiable soil, they will say "no thanks." As for the chips, one must realize they are little pieces of rock covered with a large portion of their surface area with asphalt. When heat and pressure combine the pieces will adhere to each other, but not evenly. If the material is delivered to a nicely graded South Beaver Creek Road on a nice day, graded and rolled, it might be nice for a while, but when the weather changes and the liquefiable soils do their thing and the road starts to heave, you are out of options for maintenance.

There is a much better option. The County could start by using an excavator, one of those beautiful machines that every real woman would park in the yard for her man, that has 360 degree capability. The County could add two dump trucks, one empty, one with 4 inch minus road fill material, a backhoe with a plate compactor and a number of road guards. The County could take the equipment and staff to South Beaver Creek Road. Since it is a two lane road, the County could work in one lane and direct traffic to the other lane. The County could begin by digging holes to find out where the geologically suitable base is in different locations. Subsequently, a plan could be developed for how to fix South Beaver Creek Road from the bottom up.

In 1996, the County successfully eliminated the mud hole on Lump Gulch Road that had been there for years by removing the liquefiable soil with an excavator, identifying bedrock beneath the road, replacing the liquefiable soil with gravel that would allow the water from rain and snow to drain away. New drainable road base was placed higher in the middle of the road and lower at the edges to promote additional drainage.

Finally, culverts were placed strategically to direct the water away from the road and into the ditches beside the road. Twenty eight years later Lump Gulch Road remains a smooth road as long as it is properly maintained with regular grading, removal of debris from the ditches alongside the road and clean culverts.

The County could do the same work on South Beaver Creek Road and not waste money on pavement that overtime would heave and crack because the soil beneath the pavement was not the correct foundation on which to add the paved surface.

Craig Nicholson

Gilpin County