$90 Million in Federal Grants Will Widen Highways in Colorado

"Two major transportation projects on the Front Range got a vital shot of federal money this week," reports John Aguilar. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $90 million in discretionary grants from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program "to help ease congestion on Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs and fund improvements to Interstate 70 in Clear Creek County for mountain-bound travelers."

The Gap project, as its known, will widen an 18-mile segment of I-25 between Monument and Castle Rock in El Paso County. $65 million of the total INFRA allocation goes to that project. The other $25 million in grant funding goes to the construction of a 12-mile "managed shoulder lane" on westbound I-70 through Idaho Springs. The westbound lane will duplicate an existing lane in the eastbound direction on the same highway.

An earlier article by Aguilar reports on backlash to the idea of paying tolls on the planned I-25 lanes.