The Colorado Independent reports that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority estimates high-speed passenger rail service on dedicated tracks along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors will cost $22 billion and likely require up to 50-percent funding by Colorado taxpayers,.

Harry Dale, the authority’s chairman, Harry Dale, said the higher cost of building dedicated lines rather than using existing freight lines or right-of-ways makes long-term financial sense. The assessment in part of a $1.5 million feasibility study funded mostly by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

High-speed trains traveling in excess of 100 mph would command premium fares allowing for a model of $2 in fare revenue for every $1 of operational costs. That means a private company could operate a Colorado franchise at a profit, eliminating the need for annual operational subsidies, the study says.

The Durango Herald reports that a court ruling will make it easier for the Colorado Department of Transportation to connect U.S. 550 to a lonely overpass in Grandview dubbed “the Bridge to Nowhere” when it was built without locking down all the real estate to connect to it.

Judge Jeffrey R. Wilson shot down Webb Ranch property-owner Chris Webb’s allegations of bad faith and fraud in a 12-page order filed in District Court on Jan. 29. Wilson said the allegations didn’t fit because Webb’s former attorney should have known CDOT planned to build across Webb’s land. Webb has said he thought he agreed only to allow CDOT to expand the existing highway abutting his land, and that he didn’t agree to let the department reroute a highway directly through his 500-acre ranch.

The ruling marks a clear victory for CDOT, which has taken heat from residents for building a highly visible $6 million traffic feature across one of the area’s busier roads before acquiring all the necessary rights of way.

The Durango Herald reports that a year-long $9 million highway project partially funded by the president’s stimulus package is now underway on U.S. 160, and drivers who use the road should get ready for possible 10-minute waits.

This week, the Colorado Department of Transportation is relocating utilities and clearing material from the sides of U.S. Highway 160 from mileposts 92.9 to 94.8, just east of the Florida River, so crews with Four Corners Materials of Cortez can move the county roads 222/223 intersection one mile to the east.

The low bidder on the first bridge replacement project funded by the FASTER bill’s increase in vehicle registration fees was the one closest to the job. Walsenburg Sand and Gravel Co. bid $1,837,111 to replace the bridge over Turkey Creek on CO 69 near Farisita. The project includes realignment of a half mile of the highway at the bridge. Walsenburg and Farisita are both in Huerfano County.

CDOT Media Release

Repairs begin at Glenwood Canyon Rockfall Site Today

Contract set with an early completion incentive designed to expedite work

GLENWOOD CANYON – The Colorado Department of Transportation begins repairs today (March 22) on damage caused by the rockfall incident on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon on March 8. Flatiron Construction Corporation of Longmont will be making the repairs. The cost of the repair project is approximately $860,000. However, the total cost of the rockfall event—including CDOT maintenance and design work—is expected to be much higher (that figure will be reported at a later date).

The Denver Business Journal reports that Edward Kraemer and Sons was the apparent low bidder at Thursday’s bid opening for the reconstruction of the C-470 and Santa Fe Drive interchange.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is using the last of its federal stimulus money on the project, estimated to cost a total of $25.7 million. Kraemer’s bid of $17.2 million was about five percent less than the $18.2 million engineer’s estimate for the construction work.

Where jetliners used to cross Interstate 70, Denver soon will be building a new $50.6 million interchange project that will reunite the south side of the old Stapleton airfield with the north side. But this time, it’s not 747s or DC-10s that will go over top of I-70 traffic, but Stapleton neighborhood residents, regional shoppers and other highway travelers.

It’s a first in the United States for bridge construction – the FasTracks bridge over Sixth Avenue Freeway in Lakewood will be rolled into place intact during a weekend highway closure in April.

The Summit County Citizens Voice reports that the Federal Highway Administration, concerned about compliance with environmental laws, has asked CDOT to rewrite the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the I-70 Mountain Corridor in a more “citizen-friendly” format.

The 2,500-page document would then be re-released toward the end of this year.

“Two weeks ago, the feds came in and said they don’t like the way it’s going with regard to NEPA,” said Penny, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act, an over-riding federal law that outlines how environmental studies are conducted and the rules for public involvement.”

Go to the Summit County Citizens Voice to see the entire item.

Flatiron Construction is the apparent low bidder for repairs to the Interstate 70 viaduct in Glenwood Canyon, which was heavily damaged in the Monday rockslide, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced. The contract is for $860,417, with Flatiron committing to completion in 55 days.