Don’t fix Hodgen, neighbors plead

Like roller coasters? Try driving Hodgen Road.

The peaks and valleys of this hilly northern El Paso County thoroughfare make it dangerous for drivers, who often can’t see a vehicle approaching them until the last second.

A project designed to make the road safer could start next year — but some neighbors worry that it might have the opposite effect.

A better road could lead to more truck traffic, which could make the road more dangerous for everyone, some say.

“If we have a choice between having the road fixed and the trucks, we don’t want the road fixed,” said Haldis Van Buskirk, who lives about a half-mile north of Hodgen.

The Hodgen Road safety improvements project, funded by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, would level out Hodgen and add shoulders to the road, which now drops abruptly onto gravel, said John Mc-Carty, director of the El Paso County Department of Transportation.

The project stretches about 12 miles, from Highway 83 on the west to Eastonville Road on the east, McCarty said. It will require some land from Hodgen property owners to make room for the shoulders and the sloping of the road, he said.

“We are expecting to offer the property owners fair market value,” McCarty said.

But the land issue doesn’t seem to be riling up property owners. They’re concerned about traffic.

Van Buskirk and her husband, Carroll, said they know of at least three people who were killed at an intersection on Hodgen near their home.

Semi drivers who use Hodgen as a shortcut through the county make the situation worse, they said.

Neighbors are already tired of hearing noisy truck brakes, said Phil Hosmer, chairman of the Black Forest Community Club’s transportation committee with his wife, Barbara.

“It’s a rural, residential area,” Phil Hosmer said.

McCarty said he understands the neighbors’ concerns but doesn’t think the road improvements will encourage more trucks or speeding.

“Our position is, many drivers are already driving it at a higher speed than it (the speed limit) is now,” McCarty said.

The speed limit on Hodgen is 55 mph.

The project still has several hurdles to clear. It was approved last week by the county’s highway advisory commission and now goes before the county planning commission before heading to the board of county commissioners.

The project will be completed in segments, McCarty said. Right now, only $15 million is available for the $30 million project, so officials are deciding which sections of the road are most important, he said.

If the project’s design is finished later this year, construction could start a year from now, McCarty said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0274 or jennifer.wilson@gazette.com

CONSTRUCTION

Another Hodgen Road project under way will complete its connection with Baptist Road. Until July 27, Hodgen will be closed between West Cherry Stage Road and Highway 83, according to El Paso County. When the road reopens, drivers can take a paved road directly into Black Forest from Interstate 25.