Battlement Mesa winter maintenance

Battlement Mesa subdivision roads and cul-de-sacs

The Garfield County Road and Bridge Department works to provide the public with a safe and well-maintained county road system through use of best management practices, continual improvement and efficient operations.

Garfield County Road and Bridge is not a 24 hour service.

No two winters are the same, but Garfield County Road and Bridge strives to stay on top of winter maintenance. Each time there is a snowstorm, the road and bridge employees try hard to follow an established protocol. Knowing this protocol may help residents clear up a few questions or misconceptions.

Clearing roads generally consists of a two-step process. First, during the snowstorm, plows hit the road as early as possible, typically around 3 a.m. before residences and school buses are out, to focus on redetermined primary roads. These roads consist of heavily traveled routes, and main access roads, school bus routes, and routes that utilize emergency services. Second, plows usually return to clear the primary routes after the storm has subsided. It may not appear as if the plows need to go over these routes a second time, but it is imperative to traffic safety. Revisiting the primary plow routes clears additional snow and ice that may have found its way into the road, potentially creating driving hazards. Plows also use this time as an opportunity to widen the road back out to its normal width. Regaining the additional width allows for improved safety when approaching oncoming traffic. This is standard operating procedures across the entire county.

Do not park on the streets during winter months. This is probably the most important first step in getting snow removed in your area. It has, and remains to be, common practice to not plow roads that have parked vehicles.

Understand that Garfield County has over 600 miles of maintained roads, and we will get there.

Cul-de-sacs and subdivision roads

Because there are many, many road surface miles in Battlement Mesa alone, there are designated Primary Routes and Secondary routes, unfortunately, subdivision roads and cul-de-sacs are considered “Secondary” and they will only be plowed when all Primary routes have been cleared, and stay cleared. Some storms will make this virtually impossible, as
mother nature will keep putting it down as we’re taking it off, resulting in continued removal on Primaries. Battlement Mesa is chalked full of narrow streets and cul-de-sacs. These two elements combined make it virtually, and sometimes even impossible for even small plow trucks to clear roads. There are multiple reasons for this, but the most common is vehicles parked on the roads and in very small cul-de-sacs. It is imperative that vehicles not be parked on the roads so that snow can be removed. Attempting to remove snow through narrow pathways created by vehicles parked on both sides of the streets only creates berms on both sides of the road leaving an even narrower driving path. It also creates hazards for the plow drivers which could ultimately damage someone’s vehicle. Very small cul-de-sacs are also quite challenging for a small plow truck. When the plow goes around the cul-de-sac, it is picking up snow that will inevitably drop off. This drop is not intentionally putting snow in someone’s driveway, it is just simply the nature of the removal. When this happens, the drivers are not always aware they’ve blocked someone’s driveway with excessive, and sometimes impossibly large amounts of snow. These cul-de-sacs are just simply too small to put the snow to the middle, so, unfortunately, each plowing operation during a snowstorm may result in a berm of snow across driveways, or even encroachments to other county roads. Due to time and personnel restraints, the county does not have the resources to keep driveways clear.

We are not responsible for and will not clear driveways. The responsibility of these snow berms falls on the individual resident, and not on the county

Creating a hazard

It is prohibited for residents to move the snow back onto the road in order to clear driveways. This creates a hazard in the roadway, as determined by the State of Colorado. Property owners who create hazards in a public right of way (e.x. plowing snow off private drives, piling construction materials, or placing garbage bins), may be subject to prosecution under C.R.S. §43-5-301. Additionally, the property owner may also be liable for any injury attributable to the hazard. This may include any damage to vehicles caused by the hazard. Shoveling snow into your yards and not back into the street not only prevents the above hazards, but also feeds your lawn much needed moisture.

Mailboxes

It is not the responsibility of Garfield County Road and Bridge to replace mailboxes unless we physically hit it with the plow or truck. If a mailbox has been knocked over or removed from its post due to heavy snow impacts, the homeowner must contact us. We will then inspect and take pictures to make sure the mailbox was either hit by a plow or truck, or if it was knocked over or off its post by heavy snow. If snow coming off the plow blade knocks the mailbox off or over, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to repair or replace. It is also not the responsibility of the county to remove snow from in front of your mailboxes. If a berm has been created in front of the mailbox, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to remove that snow for their mail delivery providers.

Damage to Personal Property

Occasionally, property damage will occur. Landscaping, such as retaining walls, sprinkler heads, fences and decorative items that are placed directly along the gutters may not be visible in deep snow. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to make this as visible as possible, i.e. flags or poles that extend higher than snow levels. Snow buried landscaping that has not been marked for visibility is not the responsibility of the county to replace.