Jun 27, 2008 8:10 am US/Mountain
I-70 Improvements Years Away, Face Many Hurdles
FRISCO, Colo. (CBS4) ―
A panel's recommendation to improve traffic problems along Interstate 70 in the Colorado high country are now being considered and studied by the state and local communities. Gov. Bill Ritter commended the panel's efforts during a meeting Thursday.
The blue-ribbon commission spent months debating long-term solutions to traffic jams west of Denver. The panel recommends a combination of widening I-70 and adding mass transit.
"I am grateful to all of you," Ritter said. "You are true public servants and Colorado with benefit eventually from your hard work."
The group's plan was unveiled in May. But it could take 20 years for the Colorado Department of Transportation to complete the highway part of the project.
Those improvements include adding a lane in each direction of I-70 just east of the Eisenhower Tunnel, improving the interchange at I-70 and U.S. Highway 40 near Empire, and making the interstate six lanes wide from Floyd Hill to the twin tunnels east of Idaho Springs.
There are several hurdles to clear for the highway projects. The entire plan must be approved by federal officials. Then environmental impact studies are needed for each individual project.
An estimated $2 billion is going to be available for the road improvements over the next 20 years, commission chair Michael Penny said.
"It should fund a lot of the improvements that were agreed upon in the collaborative effort," said Penny.
The rail project is another matter. There is no funding for the plan.
A study is underway to find out how much a system would cost, which technology and type of rail would work best in the mountain corridor, and who would ride it.
"There's a lot of conversation now among the communities about what the impact to having rail come into the community," Penny said. "Do we want to have a rail stop in Frisco? Silver Plume has said we don't want a rail stop."
A big question mark is who will own and operate the rail system.
Penny said CDOT will start highway work in a couple of years after the impact studies start getting completed. Projects will move forward based on how much funding is available at the time and which areas are in worse shape.
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Project I-70
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