Emergency Slope Stabilization of Kimball Creek & 64.6 Roads

On May 23, the County approved a budget of $708,823  to address an urgent need to stabilize the roads and hillside slopes on Kimball Creek Road and 64.6 Road in Collbran. The planned work is scheduled to start after the Memorial Day weekend, and the crews aim to finish the project by early July.

Two areas are experiencing road settlement and slope instability in Collbran due to the moisture received this past winter and spring. All three locations are the only access points to multiple properties along the roads.

64.6 Road, also known as Vega Dam Road, is experiencing a continuing downhill roadside slope collapse issue adjacent to the area, which was fixed in 2018. While the roadside slope is still sliding, it hasn't caused any road damage.

The second location is Kimball Creek Road, where a road expansion project was finished between 2018 and 2019. A significant amount of water was observed seeping from the hillside during the construction of a retaining wall made of soil nails. Despite having drains installed in the wall, this year's heavy rainfall has overloaded the drainage system. This has resulted in saturated soil beneath the road and hillside, causing substantial damage to the road.

The engineering department has contacted GeoStabilzation International, a company that has previously done emergency hillside repair work for Mesa County. They have proposed a plan costing $708,823.45 to install soil nails and shotcrete walls on Vega Dam Road and Kimball Creek Road to make them stable.

Further investigation is needed for a third site identified at the intersection of Kimball Creek Road and Buzzard Creek Road, and a separate plan will be presented later for this location. Mesa County has been monitoring all these three sites, and the worsening conditions justify the need for immediate repair.