An amendment authored by Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) to designate I-70 from Denver to Salt Lake City as a Corridor of High Priority passed the House of Representatives today as part of a major transportation bill that funds the country’s roads, bridges, and highways.
With this Congressional designation, I-70 will now be eligible for certain federal funding streams to help with maintenance and improvement on what is a notoriously congested highway, especially during peak ski travel times. High-priority corridors are given preferential consideration when applying for discretionary grant programs like the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) and newly established Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects, as well as financing opportunities, like those established under the Transportation Infrastructure and Financing Act (TIFIA).
“Anyone who has sat in traffic on a Sunday afternoon on I-70 East knows that highway is in need of major improvements,” Polis said. “Traffic along I-70 has far outpaced our ability to expand and maintain it, and at this point Colorado can’t do it alone. This designation will give expansion and maintenance projects along I-70 broader, more competitive access to federal funds – which is a critical first step in tackling the highway’s major challenges and improving quality of life, regional tourism, and national commerce.”
“On behalf of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), I want to thank Congressman Polis for his amendment to designate Interstate 70 between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah as a High Priority Corridor,” Shailen Bhatt, Executive Director of CDOT, said. “This amendment rightfully recognizes what the people of Colorado already know, that Interstate 70 is not only important regionally, but nationally as well.”
“The I-70 Coalition appreciates the leadership of Representative Polis and the support of the Colorado delegation to designate Interstate 70 as a Corridor of High Priority,” Margaret Bowes, Director of the I-70 Coalition, said. “This designation recognizes the importance of the I-70 Mountain Corridor as the economic engine of Colorado’s tourism and outdoor recreation sector. I-70 is the state’s only continuous east-west interstate, serves as a ‘main street’ for many mountain communities, and is a critical regional corridor providing access to some of this country’s greatest outdoor amenities.”
Earlier this week, Polis offered three additional amendments to the transportation bill that addressed longstanding problems affecting Coloradans: one aimed to reduce train horn noise by giving conductors more discretion in using their horns; one aimed at reducing train blockages in population centers by fining rail operators for extended blockages; and one would have codified preference for “high priority corridors” when applying for “Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Project” funding. Those amendments were not included in the final bill.
These amendments followed a letter Polis wrote in September to leaders of the House Transportation Committee outlining Colorado priorities for the major highway bill, and several months Polis has spent working with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to see these priorities included in the final bill.