ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Colorado will dedicate more funding for road repairs

High cash balances has the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) looking out over a long line of needed repairs—and it likes what it sees.

Over the last few years the agency has built up a cash balance of over $1 billion, and on Dec. 18 Gov. John Hickenlooper and CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt announced a plan to release that money at an accelerated rate. The Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships (RAMP) program will dedicate an additional $300 million a year to roadwork.

Funding uncertainty had CDOT in an ultra conservative mode when it came to distributing money for projects. Projects had to be paid for before work would actually begin. The agency also experienced cash flow problems, and officials are hoping a new software system will sharpen the accounting system. The new technology combined with the passage of the two-year federal highway bill—MAP-21—now has CDOT on a quest to deliver the goods.

CDOT said it would look into accelerating the completion of the I-25 widening from Monument to Woodman roads, an interchange on I-70 in Grand Junction and the widening of I-70 eastbound in Idaho Springs.