By Joan Fitz-Gerald

The recent 70-car pile-up on I-70 is yet another example of why a long-term solution for increased mobility from Denver to the Western Slope is one of the most important challenges facing the state of Colorado.

Colorado as a whole loses a significant amount of money due to congestion on I-70. Some estimates are as high as $2.5 million every day. T-Rex has been built and FasTracks is being implemented. Now a multi-modal solution for I-70 must be the next statewide transportation priority.

We have two problems in creating solutions for I-70: priorities and resources. First, we must determine our priorities. What do we want for the corridor? We must embark on an aggressive planning process to determine what the preferred package of alternatives will be. Any solution must include a balanced multi-modal approach of transit, highway improvements and other smart policies like chain laws. A solution of just adding more lanes is unacceptable to communities like Idaho Springs that will bear a disproportionate amount of the impact.

The second part of the problem, after we determine what the alternatives will be, is finding the resources to build it. In 1999, Colorado issued TRANS bonds for the T-rex project on I-25 through Denver. TRANS bonds were debt-financing instruments that allowed Colorado to borrow against future federal transportation funding. Now that federal funding is all but dried up, CDOT still has to pay approximately $200 million a year for those bonds.

In 2007, Colorado lost $7 billion in federal funding for critical needs like transportation because of other priorities. As the Senate president, I saw firsthand how the war in Iraq has deprived our country of the resources to maintain and improve our infrastructure. Every day America spends $720 million in Iraq.

Here at home Colorado faces a crisis of a $65 billion transportation shortfall, according to Gov. Ritter’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Transportation. We have 116 structurally deficient bridges, and 40 percent of our roads are in poor condition. Traffic is expected to double by 2030. We must do something — and fast.

Some have proposed tolling I-70 as an answer. I am opposed to any tolling along I-70 for highway widening alone. Just adding more lanes is not the answer for mobility or the environment. The only reason we have to consider tolling at all is because the federal government has dropped the ball on funding our transportation needs.

I applaud the work of the I-70 Coalition, which is on the front lines of forming practical multi-modal solutions. I-70 is not just a problem for Summit, Eagle, Gilpin, Grand or Clear Creek counties, it is an economic and environmental issue for the whole state. Someday I dream of taking rail mass transit to the mountains. Let’s get moving on I-70.