Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today welcomed an announcement that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will receive an $18.35 million Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for a project aimed at helping connect El Paso County regional military installations. In August, Senator Bennet led a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao advocating for the grant.
The project includes improvements to turn lanes and additional westbound lanes on a nine-mile section of State Highway 94; widening 1.5 miles of South Academy Boulevard; improvements on I-25, including replacing two bridges and adding median barriers; and realigning and widening Charter Oak Ranch Road.
“This is a critical investment for El Paso County and our military installations. Colorado has shown time and again that it will always support Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station,” said Bennet. “These funds are a vital step toward ensuring servicemembers, civilians, their families, and all those supporting the national security mission at these locations have safe access to base and throughout the community. Investing in infrastructure is crucial to ensuring the mission of our military installations, and I’m thrilled CDOT has received this well-deserved grant to help advance that goal.”