DENVER—State officials hope private groups can take over maintenance of some highways because Colorado does not have the money.
Transportation director Don Hunt oversees more than 9,000 miles of roadway that need billions of dollars in repairs.
Potential projects include Interstate 25 from Denver to Fort Collins and the I-70 mountain corridor.
According to the Denver Post ( ), the department currently operates with a $1.2 billion budget with about $800 million designated for everyday maintenance of roads, and some of their work can be contracted out.
The same type of deal is allowing a private firm to take over maintenance of U.S. 36 and toll collection in the managed lanes on the highway between Denver and Boulder.
Hunt said the department is open to any solid offer from a company or consortium of companies to design, build, operate, maintain and finance a major roadway expansion.
Such a contract, for example, could speed completion of a Denver east I-70 plan, which calls for the replacement of a 60-year-old bridge and running the highway below grade in downtown Denver at a cost of $1.2 billion. The project would allow additional lanes on the clogged stretch of highway that could be HOV-toll lanes.
Under a 50-year contract with the Transportation Department, Plenary Roads Denver will rebuild U.S. 36 from Louisville to the Table Mesa Park-n-Ride in Boulder. The consortium also will maintain the stretch between Denver and Boulder, including plowing and patching, and collect tolls from the managed lanes. Tolls collected by Plenary Roads cover the cost of maintenance in the U.S. 36 corridor, and the company has a guaranteed rate of return on the project. Any money collected beyond the return goes to the Transportation Department.
Supporters said the deal allows the $460 million project to be completed 20 years ahead of schedule.
At least 24 states have used public-private partnerships to help finance and build nearly 100 transportation projects totaling $54 billion, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.
Critics said these projects are short-term solutions to transportation woes that carry long-term risks.
———
Information from: The Denver Post,
