Contact: Ellen Dumm, 303/810-4370

Front Range Toll Road Would Make I-25 Safer, Less Congested

A safer and less congested I-25 is in the near future, if the Colorado General Assembly gives the go-ahead to legislation introduced this session. HB 05-1030 would pave the way toward a $2 billion privately-funded toll road from Wellington in northern Colorado to just south of Pueblo that would eliminate thousands of commercial truck and coal train trips along the I-25 corridor.

The Front Range Toll Road is a state-of-the art transportation corridor that gives commercial traffic an alternative around Colorado’s often clogged Front Range urban highways. The 210-mile project combines highway, railroad, light rail and utilities and would be constructed east of the heavily populated areas.

Several Denver-area businessmen began planning the project in 1986, based on a 1985 Colorado Highway Department Road Needs Plan. Private financial commitments are in place to begin construction within months if legislators approve HB 05-1030. No taxpayer dollars are needed to build the corridor.

“We’re not going to build another suburban commuter highway that adds to urban sprawl,” said Ray Wells, President & CEO of Front Range Toll Road Co. Inc. “We are committed to acquiring additional land for open space to protect the transportation facility and discourage adjacent development. That open space preserves the prairies and spectacular views.”

Wells also noted that the higher elevation ridges and their accompanying wind patterns to the east of the metro area will not trap exhaust and diesel fumes, as does the basin closer to the mountains.

The only commercial development allowed on the corridor right-of-way will be service pods (food, fuel and lodging facilities) to serve corridor users. Access intersections will be built only at state and federal highways along the route. Planned intersections near Front Range Airport and Denver International Airport will connect air, rail and highway access to enhance Colorado’s capability for national and international commerce.

The corridor will also provide a safer route for the estimated 80 million tons of coal transported annually along the Front Range, virtually eliminating the dangers of train-car collisions at hundreds of railroad crossings. The new corridor also would serve as a safer route for the essential movement of hazardous chemicals, fuels and waste, away from urban areas.

A transportation corridor of this size and scope could not be publicly funded in the foreseeable future, because of Colorado’s budget constraints.

While the project will be paid for with private funds, legislation is needed to:

§ Set consistent toll rates through multiple counties by the statewide tolling authority (Colorado Highway Commission).

§ Update the law to conform to current traffic issues.

§ Preserve local government land use authority in developing the corridor.

The legislation has bipartisan support, with Rep. Jim Sullivan (R-Douglas County) and Sen. Suzanne Williams (D-Aurora) as sponsors.