New driving regulations, others laws began Jan. 1

PAGE 11 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALLMay 29, 2025

Gilpin High School’s Drew Starkey, a 5-foot-10 senior

quarterback and linebacker, will represent the Eagles at the

all-star football game on Saturday.

Avery Ramsey calls on her two sisters Autumn and Sierra to perform the capping ceremony

during the Gilpin County High School Award night May 21. See page 8-9.

• budget for it, the project

will be divided into at

least two phases—one for

each year.

• Residents will be invited

to attend a second meet-

ing regarding the S.

Beaver Creek Road plans

sometime in August, after

the consultant JR En-

gineering of Centennial

determines the best ap-

proach to address issues

with the rut-filled dirt

road.

Last week’s meeting, led by

John Combs, the Gilpin Pub-

lic Works Director, included

representatives from JR Engi-

neering of Centennial, which

the county hired for $332,590

in February to develop an

improvement plan for the

second-busiest county road.

Project Manager Eric Lee

of JR Engineering stated that

South Beaver Creek Road

has several soft spots that

accumulate water, drainage

problems, a weak sub-surface,

drainage pipe failures, ice and

snow buildup during the win-

ter months, and issues with

speeding.

Currently, the county has

placed signs stating, “No

Heavy Trucks,” “Local Traffic

Only,” and “Road Damaged

Ahead” at the road’s western

entrance from Highway 119

south of Rollinsville. Accord-

ing to the county, approxi-

mately 700 vehicles use the

road daily.

Lee and Combs stated that

the county is primarily explor-

ing the most efficient ways to

improve a 3.7-mile section

of South Beaver Creek Road

from Highway 119 to Pacto-

lus Lake Road. The engineer

pointed out that South Beaver

Creek, which runs parallel to

the road, cannot be relocated

without permission from the

Federal Emergency Manage-

ment Agency because it lies

within a floodplain.

JR Engineering’s Daniel

Vaught, a drainage specialist,

told the audience, “We don’t

know what the design [plan]

is going to look like.” He es-

timated that it will likely take

until late August to create

the plan, after which another

public meeting will be sched-

uled.

Because Gilpin lacks estab-

lished rights-of-way on many

properties bordering the road,

Gilpin County cannot widen

parts of it. When residents

asked if the road could be

paved, Combs said it wasn’t

likely. “It’s not cheap to [to

pave]. It probably would cost

$1 million per mile.”

Gilpin County commission-

ers who attended the meeting

stated they have been budget-

ing for capital improvement

projects, including funds

to improve S. Beaver Creek

Road. However, they also

mentioned that the county

has other projects it needs to

undertake as well.

Residents who attended

the meeting, including

several from the Wedgwood

neighborhood, expressed

different opinions on how

to improve the road, which

has many driveways and side

of sight.

most section of South Bea-

ver Creek Road due to the

challenges in driving there.

One man suggested that

the county should leave the

road as it is, arguing that

improvements would lead to

increased speeding.

Last year, the county com-

missioners planned to award

a $553,408 contract for the

road improvement study for

S. Beaver Creek Road, which

starts further east on High-

way 72 in Coal Creek Canyon.

However, after discovering

that state and federal grants

might no longer be available,

they decided to scale back the

study and inform residents

that the work may be com-

pleted in phases over several

years.

Combs stated that South

Beaver Creek Road has ex-

isted since the 1800s, when it

was utilized by miners. “It’s

been a problem since automo-

biles began using it. The horse

and buggy didn’t have the

problems [we have today]. We

want to build something we

South Beaver Creek Road

ranks as the second-busiest

road after Gap Road. This

road, which is farther south,

connects Highway 72 from a

point in Coal Creek Canyon

to near the Gilpin County

Public Library. Many casino

employees and patrons use

Gap Road to reach Black

Hawk.

Best Pricing • Local Discounts • Great Variety • Family Owned & Operated • Medical Discounts

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Gilpin Public Works Director John

Combs (standing) explained the South

Beaver Creek Road structural problems

to residents, who will

learn an update of the

county’s plans for the

artery in late August.

Photo by Don Ireland

S. Beaver Creek Rd.

New driving regulations, others laws began Jan. 1

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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New driving regulations, others laws began Jan. 1

PAGE 11 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALLMay 29, 2025

Gilpin High School’s Drew Starkey, a 5-foot-10 senior

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