Roughly $3.5 billion in bonding would fund 45 much-needed road and bridge projects across Colorado, including the Interstate 70 mountain corridor, under a bill introduced late Monday in the legislature.
Dubbed the Fix Colorado Roads Act, the measure seeks to establish a "sustainable solution to Colorado's transportation funding crisis," according to the bill's backers.
The plan is to put the 20-year bond program proposal on the November 2016 ballot for voters to decide.
Colorado currently devotes no reliable general fund dollars to transportation.
If voters approve, the state would issue additional transportation revenue anticipation notes — or TRANs — for a maximum principal amount of $3.5 billion. The new TRANs would have a maximum repayment term of 20 years.
General funds for transportation would be combined with a portion of CDOT funds to deliver a $250 million annual payment that generates the $3.5 billion in bond proceeds, according to Sandra Solin, spokeswoman for Fix Colorado Roads.
This measure impacts some larger single projects in the state, including Interstate 25 from Colorado 14 south to U.S. 36 and I-25 from Monument Hill to Castle Rock and the new Pueblo Freeway.
