A meeting held this week to discuss a possible partnership between the state and a private firm to rebuild Interstate 70 has drawn the ire of Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher.
Gallagher said it appeared the state was already trying to solicit firms to take on the I-70 project, which is still going through an environmental impact study.
“This meeting sends the very clear message that the decision has indeed been made and the process is rigged,” Gallagher said in a letter sent Friday to Don Hunt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The final environmental impact statement, which will be completed by CDOT next year, must include how the project will be financed, said CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford. That is why hearings on the proposed financing of the project — open to the public — will be conducted while the impact study is going on, Ford said.
