Resident says lack of notice left Horse Creek residents surprised by bridge work, raising emergency‑response concerns

Hansen Crutcher told the Park County Commission on July 7 that he and neighbors had no timely notice before crews closed a road for bridge work on Horse Creek/Shields River, describing a morning when only a few workers and two pickups were at the site and later that day a large pile of dirt and no effective warning signs blocked residents’ routes.

Chutcher said he first encountered three workers near the bridge and later returned at about 5:11 p.m. to find the road closed with signs that had been blown over. He said the county told one worker not to place signs until 8:00 a.m. that morning and that some residents — including a local postal worker Chutcher asked — received no certified notices. "We would've never noticed," he said, describing calls he made to the sheriff's office and concerns that emergency responders were unaware of the closure.

The resident pressed the commission on safety: "The ambulance has to respond to a medical emergency up on any of those roads, you're talking at least a half hour, maybe an hour worth of response time," Chutcher said, adding that houses could burn in that time if the fire department is delayed.

Chutcher also referenced open‑records and meeting laws, saying a lack of adequate public notice could present legal problems and asked the commission to investigate whether proper notification occurred.

Chair (speaking for the commission) acknowledged the complaint, thanked Chutcher and said county road staff would meet with him immediately after the meeting to review what happened and to "get to the bottom of this." Public works staff in the meeting later reported crews were mobilizing equipment for the Horse Creek bridge demolition and construction and that work would continue this week.

Why it matters: residents on narrow, rural roads said alternative routes such as Indian Creek Road are often single‑lane and can be impassable in winter; loss of a primary route without reliable notice can materially increase emergency response times and isolate residents.

What’s next: the chair told Chutcher the county’s public road staff would meet with him right after the session to address his concerns and follow up on whether notice procedures and signage were adequate.