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County crews finish Red Mountain rockfall work; superintendent seeks $9,300 hydroseeding to stabilize scar
Summary
Ouray County Road & Bridge finished contractor rockfall mitigation on County Road 361 and plans to hydroseed about an acre of slope damaged by the Hillficker mitigation; superintendent asked the board for direction to fund a $9,300 revegetation effort and to avoid further rock-pushing in the revegetation zone.
Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barker reported June 10 that EarthTech West and county crews completed the major rockfall recovery work on County Road 361 and expect to open the road to wheeled traffic soon.
Barker told the Board that contractors and county crews cleared debris, performed additional rock scaling and cabling where needed, and that his crews will follow to restore the road surface. He said a slab discovered during mitigation required additional anchoring and that the contractor's final invoice will be “a little shy of $25,000.”
Barker asked the board for authority to carry out a targeted revegetation (hydroseed) and erosion-control treatment for a scoured slope created during the work. The package Barker described covers about one acre, includes a high‑alpine seed mix specified by the county vegetation manager and a soil amendment suited to very rocky ground, and is priced at about $9,300. Barker said the work would be performed by a truck‑mounted hydroseed applicator staged near Senator Gulch and sprayed down the slope toward Canyon Creek.
Commissioners and staff discussed the technical difficulty of revegetating a near‑vertical, rocky slope and the prior pattern of rockfall or maintenance in that area. Vegetation manager Julie Kolb had reviewed the site and recommended the specified seed mix and application method, Barker said. The property owner (identified in the meeting as Dr. Gebhardt) has been cooperative, Barker said.
There was no formal vote recorded in the meeting minutes; commissioners indicated consensus to proceed with the hydroseed approach and emphasized that Road & Bridge crews should avoid pushing additional rock over the slope (one commissioner asked staff to avoid further disturbance so the new seed has a chance to establish). Commissioners requested staff document results (suggested: drone photos at the start and at the end of growing seasons for monitoring) and asked Barkerto report back with results or any material changes.
Barker also reviewed other roadwork: gravel production to support 24‑series road repairs, continued dust‑control scheduling and the plan to complete base repairs on CR 361 and regrade the Hillficker area as soon as EarthTech clears the site.
Why this matters: the rockfall work reopened a critical county road used by residents and recreationists and left a steep, scoured slope that the county says it has an obligation to stabilize after work in the right of way disturbed about an acre of soil. The $9,300 hydroseed is intended to limit erosion and reduce future maintenance needs.
Commissioners asked staff to include the hydroseed cost and monitoring plan in Road & Bridge reporting and to make clear how the work will be funded within current project budgets.
