 Environmental damage included alpine ponds and wetlands becoming filled with gravel, and layers of gravel averaging deep covering the forest floor below.Pursuant to the settlement agreed by the Sierra Club and the City of Colorado Springs, the unpaved portion of the "Pikes Peak Highway" became a hard-surface road, despite concerns that such a project would radically change the nature of the annual automobile and motorcycle race.The paving project was completed on October 1, 2011.