I-70 stakeholders reach consensus but not much else without money.

• Author: Best, Allen
• Position: [TRANSPORTATION]

In late May a consortium of 27 stakeholders--towns and counties, state and federal transportation officials, environmentalists, truckers and ski area operators--finally reached consensus about the next steps to alleviate the increasing paralysis of Colorado's most important east-west corridor.

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There are no silver bullets and, at least for a good long time, any bullets trains. Like most of the country, Colorado's highway infrastructure is falling apart with no revenue streams adequate to fix it. Unless that changes, state officials expect to have only $1.8 billion to spend on I-70 west from Denver through the year 2025. Hogging the funds for another decade will be the bill for T-Rex, Denver's I-25 fix.

Instead, the stakeholders convened last year by Russell George, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, have agreed to a common vision that staggers capacity improvements. Several major improvements can be expected in the next 12 years at key chokepoints between Floyd Hill and the Continental Divide.

Worst is the Floyd Hill-to-Idaho Springs segment. It has twists, a steep hill, twin tunnels, confluence with slow-moving traffic and then more turns. A fix will not be easy, and Clear Creek Commissioner Harry Dale predicts a "fairly intense" two-tier environmental impact statement. In addition to two added lanes, the alignment must also make room for some sort of mass transit, be it...