President's Roads & Bridges Plan Could Leave Colorado Short
DENVER (CBS4)- The Trump Administration is expected to release its plan to fund new roads and bridges. Pres. Donald Trump says he wants to make a trillion dollar investment but it may leave Colorado short.
The state is already in the hole billions of dollars when it comes to transportation funding. If the draft of Mr. Trump's infrastructure plan is any indication, that hole could get much deeper.
The draft calls for half of federal infrastructure dollars to be doled out as competitive grants and only states willing to invest more money themselves would be eligible.
"If Colorado doesn't pass increased revenue this year, Colorado won't be able to compete," said Ed Rendell, head of the bipartisan group Building America's Future.
The infrastructure plan also calls for changing the funding formula from 80 percent of federal dollars and 20 percent state to the opposite.
"The president says we're going to do a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, but it's only
$200 billion in federal money. That's 20 percent. The rest has to come from state and private sector, that's crazy."
Rendell says while public-private partnerships are part of the solution, for the 60,000 bridges in need of repair nationwide, that won't work.
"Only 100 generate enough traffic to sustain a toll and the private sector is only going to invest money when they can get a return on their investment," said Rendell.
Tony Milo, executive director of the Colorado Contractor's Association, says Colorado can no longer afford to be idle.
"Right now our economy is booming, but if we don't do something to fix our roads and bridges, and get people and goods moving again, that could come to a screeching halt," said Milo.