A week or so I manage to disembowel the front of my car while driving down the road on my way home. I had taken 20th Lane because the speed demons were on the highway I usually travel. I suddenly found myself airborne and then slammed down onto the pavement. I continued on my merry way home and when I parked, still wondering what in the hell that was all about. A quick check of my car showed the front bottom part of my grill (I think it is a faring) was no longer attached. So, it was not my imagination after all. I looked up a number for a county office that I thought would perhaps tell me what that was I hit. A very nice lady asked to help me. I explained that I had no idea how she could, but this was the situation as I saw it.
"I do not know what in the hell I hit over on 20th and County Farm, but it caused me to become airborne and ripped the faring off my front end as well as scaring hell out of me. " She took my contact information and apologized, but assured me someone would contact me. Sure. Been there, done that.
To my surprise, a very nice man named Dale called me the next day to say he found nothing and when I told him I was not on County Farm, but was crossing it, he went back to investigate that info. Then to my surprise he called me back to explain that it was a water pan I had hit. What? A water pan is where there is a dip for the water that overflows the ditch to run across the intersection and into the ditch on the other side. A culvert came to mind, but that was too simple. Out here in the county where there is a big ditch and lots of watering of the produce in the fields, it is apparently easier then culverts. The end result is we have lots of these "water pan dips" and they are not nice. Some of them are called widow makers for a reason. Having lived out here half of my life I have learned to slow down and I had crossed that particular dip many occasions with no problems. So what had happened this time that made it different? I did not know.
I had the car put back together. Dale called a couple more times to just check in. (?) I thanked him each time for his caring attitude. Then came his final phone call. They were not happy with that "water pan" so they dug it up. They found a broken pipe which had been leaking and patched several times creating a crater under the water pan, which I discovered quite by accident. He assured me that it was now repaired and covered with gravel and that would be concreted in as soon as they could get a delivery. He thanked me for calling it to his attention and I say "Thank you Pueblo County for actually listening to an old lady!" He even asked about whether I had my car fixed or not. A public servant with a heart!
I drove over that way today and checked it out. Yep, it is something I can cross now without losing the front of my car. Usually when a problem comes up out here and I report it, there is no action and I am sure my complaint goes in a big pile with a whole lot of other ones, but I have to say a big Thank You to Pueblo County Roads and a guy named Dale for following through on my concerns.
"I do not know what in the hell I hit over on 20th and County Farm, but it caused me to become airborne and ripped the faring off my front end as well as scaring hell out of me. " She took my contact information and apologized, but assured me someone would contact me. Sure. Been there, done that.
To my surprise, a very nice man named Dale called me the next day to say he found nothing and when I told him I was not on County Farm, but was crossing it, he went back to investigate that info. Then to my surprise he called me back to explain that it was a water pan I had hit. What? A water pan is where there is a dip for the water that overflows the ditch to run across the intersection and into the ditch on the other side. A culvert came to mind, but that was too simple. Out here in the county where there is a big ditch and lots of watering of the produce in the fields, it is apparently easier then culverts. The end result is we have lots of these "water pan dips" and they are not nice. Some of them are called widow makers for a reason. Having lived out here half of my life I have learned to slow down and I had crossed that particular dip many occasions with no problems. So what had happened this time that made it different? I did not know.
I had the car put back together. Dale called a couple more times to just check in. (?) I thanked him each time for his caring attitude. Then came his final phone call. They were not happy with that "water pan" so they dug it up. They found a broken pipe which had been leaking and patched several times creating a crater under the water pan, which I discovered quite by accident. He assured me that it was now repaired and covered with gravel and that would be concreted in as soon as they could get a delivery. He thanked me for calling it to his attention and I say "Thank you Pueblo County for actually listening to an old lady!" He even asked about whether I had my car fixed or not. A public servant with a heart!
I drove over that way today and checked it out. Yep, it is something I can cross now without losing the front of my car. Usually when a problem comes up out here and I report it, there is no action and I am sure my complaint goes in a big pile with a whole lot of other ones, but I have to say a big Thank You to Pueblo County Roads and a guy named Dale for following through on my concerns.
