Interstate 70 congestion, Colorado Highway 82 safety and the availability of public transportation were on the minds of Western Slope drivers, riders and commuters Monday as the Colorado Department of Transportation hosted a telephone town hall.

Hundreds of people from CDOT’s Region 3, which includes Summit, Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin and Chaffee counties, tuned in to ask questions and provide feedback on the state’s roadways and transportation systems. CDOT Regional Transportation Director Jason Smith said the interactive meeting was meant to inform the transportation department’s 2050 Statewide Transportation Plan.

“We need your help,” Smith said. “Our transportation dollars are limited, and with a state as large and diverse as Colorado, we want your feedback on CDOT’s priorities and how best to distribute our limited resources.”

He outlined the transportation department’s three main goals: fixing roads “because potholes don’t fix themselves;” advancing transportation safety because “everyone deserves to get home safely, whether by driving, walking, biking or riding transit;” and increasing sustainable transportation choices.

Colorado Transportation Commissioner Barbara Bowman, who represents the 11 West Slope counties in District 7, said that one of the region’s biggest challenge is weather, including long winters that make for short construction seasons.

Places like Vail Pass, Monarch Pass and Red Mountain Pass are “prone to some of the worst weather the state sees” and, in many cases, the mountainous topography means detours can be lengthy when major roadways close, Bowman said.

“There are no easy or quick ways to traverse these mountains,” she said. “We saw this with the mudslides in Glenwood Canyon, with the emergency closure of the Highway 50 bridges over Blue Mesa Reservoir and with frequent winter closures of Interstate 70 or Highway 550 due to weather or crashes.”

Another major challenge is funding, she said, explaining that Colorado’s transportation funding is generated primarily through the state and federal gas tax, neither of which has changed in 30 years. Colorado’s gas tax is $0.22 per gallon and doesn’t increase with inflation, she said.

Responding to one caller’s question about why transportation revenues haven’t increased with more drivers on the road, Smith said vehicles are more fuel efficient than they used to be, limiting the amount of tax revenue the state collects on gas. He said the transportation department doesn’t expect to see any increase in revenues in the near future.

To determine how to distribute limited funds, Bowman said CDOT works with transportation planning regions with representatives that assemble lists of local priorities that are then compared to CDOT’s goals.

“We would love to be able to have money to take care of every project that needs to get accomplished throughout not just our district but the state overall,” she said. “Unfortunately, that’s just not feasible.”

During a question and answer period, two Garfield County residents spoke to the traffic and safety issues on Colorado Highway 82 and I-70, raising concerns about congestion from increased tourism, wildlife collisions and weather-related closures. One resident called for lower speeds in the area, while the other voiced anxieties about safety during detours over Independence Pass.

Another Garfield County resident who said he has a neurological condition that prevents him from driving asked CDOT to expand the western Bustang line to make round trips to Grand Junction and Denver more feasible. A Mesa County resident also raised concerns about the quality of public transportation to and from Denver, saying “a few more buses could be helpful.”

A Gypsum resident noted Colorado’s limited transportation funds, asking, “What is the state planning to do about pavement conditions?”

Smith responded that CDOT is always looking for opportunities “to maximize our dollars” and has focused on rehabilitating driving lanes rather than shoulders.

In response to a Summit County resident who also raised concern about safety on I-70 on and off ramps, Smith noted that CDOT is in the design phase of a project to reconfigure Exit 203 to Frisco to remedy dangerous congestion that develops there.

He also highlighted ongoing, recently completed and new projects that have been supported by Colorado transportation funding.

CDOT is in the final stages of completing the U.S. Highway 50 Blue Mesa Bridge project, which Smith described as “a major undertaking for an emergency repair that took the entirety of our team a year to get completed.” 

That bridge linking Gunnison and Montrose closed for portions of last year after multiple cracks were found during a special inspection. It is a key route for the residents and businesses surrounding the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

CDOT also recently wrapped up work along Highway 50 building wider shoulders, improving roadway alignment, stabilizing slopes with rockfall fencing and replacing guardrails through about four miles of Little Blue Creek Canyon, Smith said.

On the I-70 corridor, work is continuing on the Vail Pass Auxiliary Lanes project, which will improve roadway safety and add wildlife crossings, he said. He also noted that CDOT recently completed a roundabout project on U.S. Highway 6 in New Castle, just off I-70.

He added that Coloradans can provide feedback on the 2050 Statewide Plan through a survey by visiting CODOT.gov.