Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that the Colorado Department of Transportation has been selected to apply for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for the U.S. 36 project to develop multi-modal solutions to address congestion on the corridor.
“Colorado is seeing booming growth along the U.S. 36 corridor,” Bennet said. “As more businesses expand and the population grows, improvements to the highway and other modes of transportation are necessary to reduce traffic, help people get to work faster and safer, and allow Coloradans to get about their daily lives. TIFIA funds will help attract the necessary resources to finish this project. It’s clear the hard work of local leaders, the governor and state transportation officials, and the joint efforts of the congressional delegation are coming to fruition with this invitation to apply for these resources.”
In February, Bennet led a letter, along with Senator Mark Udall and Representatives Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis, expressing support for the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) forthcoming application for credit assistance through the Federal Highway Administration’s TIFIA program to help complete Phase 2 of this project, which consists of extending the express lanes the final eight miles to connect Denver’s Union Station to Boulder.
The Colorado project was one of five selected to submit a loan application, which the Department of Transportation will review. If approved, the loan would go toward financing part of the estimated total project cost of $139.7 million.
The U.S. 36 corridor is already home to numerous high-tech, energy, financial, and telecommunications companies among others and the population of these fast-growing communities is expected to soar to more than 600,000 people by 2030.