Colorado’s bridges and highways are crumbling at a dangerous rate.
Gov. Roy Romer launched an ambitious transportation improvement program in 1997, but the 2001-03 recession derailed it and put state highways on a starvation diet. Now, the number of our bridges in need of replacement has increased by nearly a third since 2003. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) lists 20 bridges as “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete.” Overall, 106 bridges in the state received “poor” ratings, up from 80 in 2003.
CDOT officials this week asked the state for $91.3 million to fix the worst ones. There is little hope of undertaking such vital tasks unless Referendums C and D win voter approval Nov. 1. These initiatives let the state keep up to $3.7 billion in surplus revenues through 2010, and some of that money will be channeled into a $1.2 billion package of 57 highway projects. The bridge improvements requested this week aren’t part of that package, but passage of C and D will ease the pressure on the state’s general and highway funds and allow some additional bridge spending.
The 1997 transportation law funneled an additional $200 million annually to transportation needs. But funding for that law, and an updated 2002 version, vanished completely in the 2002-03 budget as the recession hit. Because the “ratchet clause” of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights prohibits the state from ever recovering revenue lost in the economic downturn, future revenues once earmarked for transportation needs will be converted into tax rebates if the referendums fail. If C and D pass, the existing laws will again channel revenues to rebuild our crumbling highways. The money earmarked to transportation is more than adequate to pay off the highway bonds – providing a way to pay for the $91.3 million in urgent bridge repairs.
Foes of Referendums C and D have long accused the bipartisan coalition fighting to meet Colorado’s educational and transportation needs of claiming that “the sky is falling.” But the truth is our bridges are falling.
If you don’t believe the governor and his bipartisan coalition, just drive to one of the dangerous bridges described in Robert Sanchez’s Denver Post story last Wednesday and judge for yourself. But be careful where you park. The empty promises by referendum opponents won’t give you much protection from falling concrete.
