The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is looking to improve a 61-mile corridor of Interstate 25, which includes adding 52 miles of express toll lanes between Denver and Fort Collins. Announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Build America Bureau has provided a $501 million loan to the Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO).
The I-25 project has a price tag of $1.6 billion, and aims to improve travel times, capacity for future travel, rehabilitation of older critical rail crossings and structures, and connecting users to a 100-mile regional trail network, while also maintaining safe crossings for wildlife throughout the corridor.
“This $1.6 billion project relieves traffic on neighborhood streets and provides mobility hubs, carpool and bus rapid transit facilities, park and ride lots with EV charging and pedestrian and bicycle access,” said Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Carlos Monje Jr. “The bus rapid transit improvements are expected to reduce travel time by 10-15 minutes, greatly enhancing benefits of transit trips.”
The project includes: 52 miles of express lanes, park and ride and mobility hubs at the Kendal Parkway and Colorado 56 interchange, and reconstruction of 13 bridges, six interchanges and rail crossings.
This project is a top priority for Colorado, with $4.6 billion being invested into the project through 2060. The $501 million loan will help accelerate critical segments and phases of the overall project by 2028.
“The current TIFIA-funded projects will benefit the economy, environment and quality of life for all northern Coloradans,” said Heather Paddock, Region 4 director for the Colorado Department of Transportation. “Specifically, the loan funding will support expansion of the existing Express Lanes network, improve transit travel times by building center-loaded mobility hubs, correct geometric deficiencies, improve safety and replace aging infrastructure.”
The CTIO estimates that the ability to leverage $501 million through the TIFIA program will accelerate construction by nearly a decade and avert more than $250 million in project delay costs.
“This loan offers the project sponsors a cost-efficient option to build the improvements and realize benefits now using existing and future toll revenue,” said Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian. “The entire region is growing and innovative solutions such as the one used on this project will help ease today’s congestion and prepare the region for future growth and associated economic development.”
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Source: USDOT
