DENVER—Two Front Range lawmakers are pushing ahead with plans to charge a toll on a congested stretch of Interstate 70 west of Denver to pay for more lanes, despite objections from some mountain communities along the route.
Sens. Chris Romer, a Denver Democrat, and Andy McElhany, a Colorado Springs Republican, have proposed separate plans that get their first hearings at the Capitol on Thursday.
They said Wednesday the state doesn’t have enough money to take care of its current highways, let alone add more lanes to I-70.
But lawmakers and others from mountain counties say a toll could create even bigger traffic jams and might keep tourists away, hurting the their recreation-dependent economies.
They also say Romer and McElhany are ignoring the efforts of 35 counties from the Denver city limits to the Utah border that have been working with environmental groups, the ski industry and truckers to examine possible solutions.
Romer said a “market-based” fee system is the best way to manage traffic flow. He wants to charge a toll for anyone traveling in a car with fewer than three occupants; trucks would pay a higher toll than cars.
He has also proposed reversing traffic in some lanes during peak travel times.
Romer acknowledged his plan has little public support but said something must be done about I-70 traffic.
“I didn’t create this angst,” Romer said.
McElhany, the Senate minority leader, wants to charge a $5 toll for travel between Floyd Hill on the outskirts of the metro area to the Eisenhower Tunnel, roughly 35 miles. The money would be used to widen the highway.
People who live in Summit, Clear Creek and Gilpin counties, which I-70 runs through, would be exempt from the toll.
“If we agree that now is the time to get something done, we can work out the details,” he said.
Rep. Christine Scanlan and Sen. Dan Gibbs, Democrats who represent portions of the counties involved, oppose the toll plans.
Scanlan said any I-70 solution must take a broad view about the effects on businesses and residents of mountain towns.
“This is the Main Street for our mountain communities. It is not just a thoroughfare to move those destination folks,” she said.
Clear Creek County Commissioner Harry Dale said discussions about a toll should wait for the results of a study on the feasibility of adding rail service to I-70. The study, paid for by the Colorado Department of Transportation and local governments, is examining everything from high-speed rail to magnetically levitated trains. It’s expected to be done by the end of next year.
Dale said careless and aggressive drivers combined with bad weather are the main problems on I-70, and widening the road could allow people to drive even faster.
Romer said moving ahead with either toll plan now would not prevent other solutions from being enacted later.
A $25 million study done under Gov. Bill Owens, who left office in January 2007, focused mainly on widening I-70 after concluding that mass transit would be too expensive.
Some mountain communities objected. Russell George, appointed to head CDOT by Owens’ successor, Bill Ritter, backed off that plan and agreed to work with people who live along I-70.
Florine Raitano, director of the I-70 Coalition representing 35 counties along the thoroughfare, said lawmakers should wait for the group’s recommendations, which are due by the end of May.
“If it had been easy, we would have solved it by now,” she said.
