Polis Administration Continues Making Significant Progress on Improving Colorado’s Infrastructure, Roads & Bridges  

Administration Delivering Major Progress on Infrastructure & Road Improvements, Historic $100 Million in New Federal Funding Coming to Colorado & New Groundbreakings 

DENVER -  The Polis administration continues to make significant progress on improving Colorado’s infrastructure, roads, and bridges. This afternoon, Governor Polis and Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Shoshana Lew, and local officials will mark the construction to replace the aging Interstate 70 bridge over Harlan Street. The project is part of a larger effort of bridge replacements and repairs in the Denver region and state through the Colorado Department of Transportation’s 10-Year Plan - the plan prioritizes delivering the most critical projects in the state.

Just a few days ago, Governor Polis and CDOT announced Colorado as the recipient of a $100 million grant from the federal government to improve Floyd Hill on I-70 which will expand reliability and safety and improve aspects of the I-70’s Mountain Corridor. CDOT has procured contract and design teams and plans to release additional design details in the coming weeks. This grant - the largest competitive grant that the state has ever received from USDOT - means that the project can get done faster and with more elements included. 

This is a project that has been a top Ten Year Plan priority for years without enough funding and now will be largely funded by dollars through Senate Bill 260 – the state’s landmark transportation bill signed last year by Gov. Polis near Floyd Hill, surrounded by a bipartisan and diverse coalition of officials focused on solving transportation issues. Following the signing of this bipartisan legislation, the Governor then toured Colorado Springs to showcase how this new law would make transformational infrastructure investments in the community. 

“We are delivering real results when it comes to improving our infrastructure, roads, and bridges. Through our ability to build strong bipartisan coalitions, and work with our federal delegation we are able to responsibly invest funding on projects to help reduce traffic, and get Coloradans where they need to go faster and safer,” said Governor Polis. 

Over the coming weeks, there will be a series of other important milestones regarding Ten Year Plan Projects empowered by the new funds from SB260, including a ribbon cutting on September 29 for the Research and Powers Interchange in Colorado Springs (CO-21). The new interchange will be open for the public on Wednesday, September 14, and this critical milestone will be commemorated at a ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 10 am at West Creek Park in Colorado Springs. This project advanced federal stimulus dollars faster than any state in the country and is now completing its work on time and budget. This ceremony will include Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, as well as other officials from the state and the Pikes Peak region.  During the establishment of the Ten Year Plan, Mayor Suthers and the Pikes Peak Area General Governments (PPACG) designated this project as their top priority for delivery. On the Western Slope the day before, CDOT will celebrate the completion of the I-70 Parachute to Rulison Resurfacing project, which will improve the driving conditions on this important East-West connection.