Press Release - Renewed Bid for U.S. 36 Funding
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2008
CONTACTS
Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370, evan.dreyer@state.co.us
Stacey Stegman, 303.902.7356, stacey.stegman@dot.state.co.us
GOV. RITTER RENEWS BID FOR U.S. 36 TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Gov. Bill Ritter today renewed Colorado's bid for federal funding to relieve congestion and expand travel options on U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder.
Gov. Ritter reiterated Colorado's interest in the Urban Partnership Agreement Program following New York's decision on Monday to withdraw from consideration. The U.S. 36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition submitted its original application for $234 million last year.
Colorado ranked high in the review but was not one of the five areas ultimately selected to share $1.1 billion in funding for projects that utilize "the Four T's": tolls, transit, telecommuting and technology.
In his letter to Secretary Peters today, Gov. Ritter wrote:
"I would like to reiterate my strong support for the application submitted by the broad coalition of U.S. 36 advocates for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) Program.
"As you are aware, the U.S. 36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition submitted an application for UPA funds and was told the project was highly ranked in the review. Colorado remains ready and prepared to move quickly should additional federal dollars become available for this project.
"We in Colorado appreciate the Administration's interest in making strategic investments in projects where congestion pricing can work effectively to both manage traffic and increase funding for transportation. We believe the U.S. 36 project would very clearly meet those goals and would demonstrate immediate success. The project has garnered strong and bipartisan support from our Congressional delegation, local elected officials, state officials, state legislators, the environmental community, transit community and state DOT."
The U.S. 36 application to the Urban Partnership Agreement called for adding a buffer-separated, multimodal express lane along an 18-mile stretch of the Boulder Turnpike. Similar to existing I-25 Express Lanes, this new managed lane would provide a state-of-the-art Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, free access to high occupancy vehicles and motorcycles. Solo drivers would be charged a fluctuating fee depending upon traffic congestion and peak travel times.
The U.S. 36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition is composed of members from the City of Westminster, City and County of Broomfield, City of Louisville, Town of Superior, City of Boulder, Boulder County, City and County of Denver. Supporting partners include the Colorado Department of Transportation, Regional Transportation District, 36 Commuting Solutions and the Office of Governor Bill Ritter.