Colorado highway office says no to P3 on Denver Beltway
Finally, a government with some fiscal sense!
Colorado Office Recommends Against P3 for Toll Lanes on Denver Beltway
By Editor
November 20, 2014
National Council on Public Private Partnerships
The Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) has recommended against financing a $230 million expansion of a portion of the beltway on the south side of the Denver metro area.
The project, which is set for construction in the summer of 2016, will add tolled express lanes in both directions of C-470 and will rebuild various on-ramps along the highway.
The board’s recommendation will go to the CDOT commissioners for a final decision.
“Our analysis shows that due to the limited size and scope of the C-470 project, the state does not appear to receive any additional value in using a P3,” HPTE Board Chair Tim Gagen said in a statement. “Therefore, HPTE recommends a design-build public funding delivery model to provide the best value for taxpayers on this project.”
With population along the C-470 corridor projected to grow by 34 percent by 2025, CDOT officials hope the express lanes will reduce congestion and improve safety. The tolls along the stretch of road, parts of which see more than 100,000 cars each day, will rise and fall based on the time of day, according to the Denver Business Journal.
The C-470 project is estimated to cost $230 million, with CDOT raising $112 million of the total from federal, state and local sources. The remaining $118 million needed will be financed through toll revenue bonds, with additional revenue from tolls being allocated toward maintenance and improvements to the road.