Funding is not necessarily flooding into Colorado following the damage caused by Mother Nature last week.
Heavy rains caused major damage to roads and bridges, and the state will dry up its entire road contingency fund—$100 million—and learned on Sept. 18 it will receive another $35 million from the U.S. DOT. However, the amount will not come close to addressing all of the needs. According to the Colorado DOT, at least 50 bridges and 200 miles of pavement were severely damaged due to the flooding, and the agency will try to address the most crucial routes first, like U.S. Rte. 34 and 36 and S.R. 72 and 119.
“This could be anything from installing temporary bridges, detours and putting in gravel rather than asphalt,” said CDOT spokesperson Amy Ford. “We want to start building connections with people and their communities as soon as possible.”
But in some parts, that connection might be severed for up to a year. Federal officials estimate it could take $152 million to make all the necessary repairs to roads and bridges. Ford said that total did not even “scratch the surface” of what is needed.
“This is a project of epic scope for us,” she said.
