Two mostly dirt roads in Boulder County that would normally be closed for the season months ago, closed for the season Friday, February 9. Barricades were set at the end of the pavement on County Road 130/Hessie Road in Eldora as well as on Fourth of July Road/County Road 116.
Andrew Barth with Boulder County Transportation tells me, “This is the first season we’ve had to enforce a closure because Mother Nature has typically taken care of it for us with deep snow to fully block the road.”
Barth says the problem with keeping the road open is the change in temperatures during the day. “In the morning the road is frozen, so vehicles have no problem driving in but then the sun comes out and everything turns to mud and traps cars.”
The dirt roads are extremely narrow in some points, so it is difficult to get tow trucks and recovery vehicles in to tow stuck vehicles out. Boulder County plans to open the roads in the spring when they say it will be safe for their maintenance crews to plow snow and maintain the road to safe, drivable standards.
The roads will remain open to pedestrians for skiing and snowshoeing, cyclists, and equestrian traffic. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office says parking in the area is limited and ask people to obey all parking signs and to not block driveways.
