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Emergency Funding Approved for Flood Damaged Road

Emergency Funding Approved for Flood Damaged Road

The Fremont County Road and Bridge Department has finally received some positive news in the aftermath of the destruction caused by the July 5th flash flood in the Upper Beaver Creek area northwest of Penrose. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs recently notified the Fremont County Board of Commissioners that an out of cycle grant has been awarded to Fremont County to help rebuild County Road 132 in the Upper Beaver Creek area. The $194,790 grant will aid Fremont County Road and Bridge crews in rebuilding the road this winter and next spring which was completely washed away from the torrent of rain.

An assessment of the damage by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within weeks after the storm estimated the damages to County Roads #132, #123, and Phantom Canyon Road at $366,000. But because total flood related damages in Fremont, Teller, and Douglas from the July storms did not reach a threshold of $5 million, the County did not qualify for any FEMA disaster assistance funds. The US Army Corps of Engineers also advised that Fremont County did not qualify for any of that agency's emergency funding.

Fremont County Road crews initially restored access for residents along County Road 132 but substantially more reconstruction work is needed to rebuild the road to its condition prior to the flood. Reconstruction work on the road with the grant money is expected to begin later this winter and spring as weather permits.