Feds sign off on hard-fought I-70 plan, but fixes still years away

The seemingly endless studying of what ails the Interstate 70 corridor between Denver and Colorado’s mountain resort communities has started feeling a bit like the snarled driving nightmare common on mid-winter Sunday afternoons. The process inches forward at a glacial rate as the traffic just keeps building. But state and federal regulators seem buoyed by achieving at least one milestone on Thursday, as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Interstate 70 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).

Last anti-FASTER bill shot down in committee

Opponents of the last significant anti-FASTER bill still kicking in the State Legislature celebrated its demise in committee on Wednesday. House Bill 1084, sponsored by Republican Kevin Grantham in the Senate and Republican Randy Baumgardner in the House, was killed 3-2 by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

Transportation a backburner issue, but state roads, bridges keep crumbling

With Colorado’s recession-plagued budget crisis as a backdrop, there’s been very little meaningful debate this election season about one of the most critical issues facing the state: how to fund desperately needed repairs for Colorado’s crumbling roads and bridges.

I-70 myth-busting glazes over winter driving nightmares

Under the headline “Myth: Interstate 70 traffic jams worst during ski season,” the Denver Post Tuesday ran an AP story in which the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) engages in a little bit of myth busting about the four-lane…

I-70 left-lane lollygaggers targeted; ‘zipper lanes’ bill clears committee

In the current dismal economic climate there are no big-picture transportation-funding fixes for Colorado’s crumbling system of roads and bridges, no high-speed transit solution right around the corner. Just zipper lanes and slow-moving traffic penalties for left-lane lollygaggers.

The state…

Colorado high-speed rail study comes as critics look to derail Obama plan

Even as passenger rail proponents and opponents in Colorado pick over the details of a high-speed rail feasibility study (pdf) released this week, criticism continues to swirl around the Obama administration’s $8 billion in stimulus funds meant to kick-start the nation’s languishing passenger rail network.

Study puts Colorado high-speed passenger rail price tag at $22 billion

High-speed passenger rail service on dedicated tracks along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors will cost $22 billion and likely require up to 50-percent funding by Colorado taxpayers, a Rocky Mountain Rail Authority (RMRA) spokesman said this week.

Sen. Kopp relishes FASTER’s slow start in funding crumbling bridge repair

In an e-Alert Thursday from coloradosenatenews.com — a blast from the Republican state Senate minority — Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, gushed about the lack of progress on fixing 125 bridges around the state deemed structurally deficient by the Colorado…

Dem signs on to FASTER reform as CDOT confirms collections lagging

Looks like state Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, will have some bipartisan support in his bid to modify late fees for vehicle registrations this session– a bit of a local Tea Party issue for state Republicans enraged by what they…

Dreaming this Christmas of stimulus powder

For all of those grumbling about the President Obama’s wasteful stimulus spending on wine trains and golf courses, the Colorado Springs Gazette reminds us today that we have the New Deal to thank for at least two of Colorado’s…