Northern Colorado officials say Larimer County road projects will struggle after voters reject tax increase

The warnings from county officials in Northern Colorado were dire, but Larimer County voters said no to a tax increase that would have gone toward fixing roads and bridges throughout the county. Now, Larimer County officials are working to figure out what to do next.

Earlier this year, Lesli Ellis told CBS Colorado that the county's budget for bridge and road projects was set to go off the edge of a cliff in 2027. But in the Nov. 4 election, voters rejected a measure designed to bolster funding for those projects.

"We're obviously disappointed," said Ellis. "We still have an unfunded gap of about $650 million worth of projects that are in that plan. We have basically 14% of the funding that we need to do many of those projects."

That means dozens of bridges and roadways in the county that are in need of repair are not going to see that fix coming any time soon. There are more than 1,000 miles of county roads in Larimer County, which is also responsible for maintaining 421 bridges. More than 50 of those bridges are being deemed as needing repairs or replacement in the near future.

Without the additional taxes or another outlet to increase funding, Ellis said three-quarters of the necessary projects will be left unattended.

Ellis explained, "We just do not have, at this point, the money to do any more significant capital projects or improvements to the system."

Those with Larimer County say they feel like there might be a misunderstanding with the voters. They believe that when residents drive through cities like Loveland and Fort Collins and see construction work on the roadways, they assume it's handled, not realizing it's a completely different fund that pays for construction on rural roads.

"Sales tax is a tough thing. We don't want to ask for it unless we really see the need," said Ellis. "We thought we were sharing information to help people understand what the funding gap was. We probably need to keep engaging with the community."

Ellis says projects with emergent needs will still be addressed. But others, like the redesign and improvements of Douglas Road, are now on the back burner.

Though many live in the cities, Ellis says it's the county roads that help connect many people to the things they love about Northern Colorado.

"A lot of our city residents and our town residents use county roads to get to the places that they go to recreate or sometimes to get to work," Ellis explained. "That line might be invisible as you're driving from one to the next."

As for whether they will try again in the next election, Ellis said it's unlikely but still possible.