As Southwest Colorado’s highways age, the state is looking to raise more money for construction.
About 88 percent of regional highways are within 10 years of coming to an end of having acceptable driving conditions, according to a new Southwest Colorado Index report. The Colorado Department of Transportation determines drivability by looking at the smoothness, pavement distress and safety of roads.
The area is slated to receive $35 million in priority program funding over the next 10 years, but that is only a piece of what it will likely receive, said Sidny Zink, state transportation commissioner for District 8, in an email.
“Regional Priority Program money is only a small part of the CDOT budget and represents funding available to Region 5 to use, based on local priorities. Most funding requests are screened at the state level to meet the highest priority needs across the state,” Zink said.
Several steps are being taken to bring in more money to the agency.
Proposals to increase the state gasoline tax or sales tax to fund transportation are being discussed and could be on the ballot in November ballot, she said.
New federal legislation, has the potential for a boost in funding for Colorado for some large projects that have been on the shelf as well, she said.
Applications for this funding, including one to connect U.S. Highway 550 to the Grandview Interchange near Three Springs, are currently being considered.
The latest state budget estimates suggest CDOT may receive more money over the next two years than estimated a few months ago, Zink said.
Even through the roads are old, collisions across the region, including Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties, have been declining since 2010, the report found.
“From a traffic safety perspective, CDOT has been focusing on crash pattern recognition to identify highway segments with higher safety needs,” CDOT Region 5 Traffic and Safety Engineer Mike McVaugh said in an email. “By focusing our safety funding on the high-crash areas, we have seen total crashes – and crash severity – decreasing.”
The report also found use of public transit has risen in some areas where it is available.
For example, rides provided by Dolores County Senior Services have increase by 2,400 in 2004 to 5,320 in 2015. The Southern Ute Community Action Programs’ Roadrunner service has increased from 7,669 trips in 2004 to 35,337 in 2015. This does not include its stage line service to Grand Junction that started in 2014.
Expanding transit to serve more commuters is challenging because fares do not cover the cost of service, said Miriam Gillow-Wiles, executive director of the Southwest Colorado Council of Governments.
But it could help extend the life of our highways.
“We do need to think about our road use and how do we help reduce that impact,” she said.
The other Southwest Index Reports released so far can be found at http://www.scan.org/index.php?page=second homesstudy
mshinn@durangoherald.com