FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Ty Barger Receives County Road Supervisor of the Year Award
Ouray County, CO — Ouray County is pleased to announce that Ty Barger, Road and Bridge Superintendent, has been honored with the County Road Supervisor of the Year award by the Colorado Association of Road Supervisors and Engineers (CARSE).
The prestigious award was presented to Mr. Barger during the recent Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI) Conference held in Westminster, Colorado. Commissioners Jake Niece and Michelle Nauer, along with fellow County staff members, were present to celebrate this significant achievement.
Ty was nominated for this esteemed award by Commissioner Niece and County Attorney Leo Caselli. In their letters of recommendation, both Niece and Caselli commended Ty for his unwavering commitment and excellence, not only to the residents of Ouray County but also to the many visitors who frequent the area throughout the year.
“It is common for our citizens and local officials to see Ty out on the weekends clearing culverts or similar, staying with his crew members as a working manager on the most difficult/ dangerous projects, or just staying extremely long hours at the office to do the “quiet” administrative work that is less visible but equally necessary, for a construction executive of his caliber. Ty is a true construction professional at heart, who builds and preserves the local fabric that weaves together the complex web of our county’s infrastructure system,” stated County Attorney Caselli in his recommendation letter.
Commissioner Niece remarked, “Ty embodies the saying, “do more with less” and deserves to be recognized for working smarter AND harder, his integrity, organization, ingenuity, and bottom-line effectiveness. Not only has Ty kept up with an extraordinary increase in maintenance demand, but he has also made thoughtful analyses of his department, materials, vehicles, staffing, and operations, including a 1- and 6-year road plan that chips away at a large backlog of capital improvements to county roads.”
Since joining Ouray County in 2021, Ty has added several impressive projects to his portfolio, including: (1) securing direct congressional funding through FEMA for an Army Corps special hazard area at Corbett Creek, which involved a complete redesign of a bridge and wing wall along a crucial evacuation route prone to debris flows; (2) coordinating helicopter-assisted emergency mitigation and clearing of a major rockfall incident on CR-361 (Camp Bird Road), which included geo-hazards engineering and enabled summer recreational access to Yankee Boy Basin during closures; (3) developing a comprehensive one and six-year road plan encompassing regular buildouts, dust control schedules, crew avalanche training, fleet modernization, various needs assessments, and major maintenance methodologies; and (4) enhancing recreational and four-wheel-drive access through multi-benefit engineering projects, which included a parallel trail build-out that reached the Colorado Supreme Court, ultimately upheld in favor of the County.
“When I joined Ouray County nearly five years ago, I didn’t fully anticipate the kinds of challenges and difficulties my team and I would encounter. I am so very grateful for the wonderful team of dedicated professionals who I have been privileged to work with, and I believe they are completely capable of overcoming any challenges in serving this community. None of us do our work for gratitude or recognition, so this award is deeply appreciated and very humbling. It was an incredibly proud experience to represent Ouray County in accepting this award,” said Barger.
Ouray County takes great pride in having Ty as our Road and Bridge Superintendent and celebrates his recent recognition and award. Please join us in congratulating Ty on this well-deserved honor.
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