COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Our city's aging infrastructure combined with a lack of funding means a blown out concrete channel located near Union and Lexington has been cracked and crumbling for more than four months.
"Not only did we put the rubble concrete back in place, we also cemented it in," Mike Chaves, Roadway Manager for the city of Colorado Springs said.
After Colorado Springs locals voted the Stormwater Enterprise out there's been no funding in the budget for our stormwater system.
So, the city's street division has been doing spot work on the 1,500 feet of concrete, but it needs major repair.
"This is a concrete channel that blew out we have concrete channels all over town. They have a life span and a lot of them are reaching their lifespan, so we've got to come up with new ways of building these concrete channels," Tim Mitros, Engineering Development Review & Stormwater Manager said.
And with so many channels aging, the mayor has put together a task force of all the needs in the region.
This channel is the top priority with an estimated $750,000 to fix. A request for funding has been made for the 2013 budget, and a decision is expected in December.
While this concrete channel directly impacts one townhome development our infrastructure impacts our entire community and represents: drinking water, bridges, roads, stormwater, transit, and wastewater.
"When something goes wrong, when your water doesn't turn on out of your tap, some type of a wastewater spill, or when you have a flood in your basement," Stan Rader, Chairman for the Infrastructure Report Card Committee said.
It all trickles back to our infrastructure that's barely making the grade.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM