Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday broadly laid out a three pronged proposal for putting more money into Colorado’s road and bridge network. He said the proposal would be part of a comprehensive bill he would put forth in the coming legislative session.
Ritter said the planned “omnibus” transportation bill will look at ways to generate money for near-term infrastructure repairs while also moving toward fundamentally changing how transportation projects are paid for in Colorado. In a meeting with The Denver Post’s editorial board, Ritter said he and lawmakers must reach a solution this year to fix the state’s increasingly fragile roads and bridges, something they gridlocked on last year.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make it happen this session,” he said.
Under Ritter’s vision, the state would look to a possible federal infrastructure stimulus package to kick-start road and bridge repairs this year, while also looking to increase a number of vehicle-related fees to provide transportation money over the next several years.
Ritter declined to say how much money he hopes the proposal would raise or what fees in particular would be targeted, saying those details are still being negotiated among lawmakers of both parties.
“It’s a fairly delicate conversation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ritter said he hopes the bill also will look at a long-term change to the state’s transportation funding mechanism. The state’s current primary system — through a per-gallon gasoline tax that hasn’t been raised in more than a decade — has lost ground because of inflation and the use of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
State leaders have floated a number of ideas this winter for generating more transportation dollars, but it is still unclear which plan will emerge.
On Monday, members of the Metro Mayors Caucus, which is weighing options for local communities trying to cope with the $2 billion shortfall of the FasTracks transit expansion, got a look at an early outline of one possible bill. The proposal, which Ritter has not endorsed, suggests raising money through an annual “bridge and safety surcharge,” as well as an increased rental-car fee.
It also proposes a pilot project to study charging annual registration fees based on the number of miles a specific vehicle drives in a year, rather than vehicle age.
Lee Kemp, current chairman of the Regional Transportation District’s board of directors, attended the meeting and expressed disappointment that the transit agency had not yet been consulted on the bill.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
