LARIMER COUNTY — With the newly completed Big Thompson Canyon roadway in the background, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law Thursday a bill to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to transportation statewide.
At the site of a new bridge rerouting U.S. 34 away from the river in the canyon, west of Loveland, Hickenlooper and other state lawmakers lauded Senate Bill 1, a measure that will infuse $645 million into Colorado transportation in 2018 and 2019.
“It’s not enough for what the state needs, but it certainly is a start,” said Hickenlooper, adding that the bipartisan bill is one of the largest boosts to transportation in Colorado history.
State lawmakers credited — albeit difficult at times — cooperation across party lines for accomplishing the bill, which lawmakers from across Colorado said will add $495 million to this year’s transportation budget, $150 million to next year’s and an additional $50 million in ongoing funding per year for the next of 20 years.
Voters could also be asked to approve a $2.34 billion bond package in 2019. That’s if a proposal to increase the state’s sales tax rate by 0.62 percent make the 2018 ballot and not pass.
Denver Post staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.