CDOT Adopts New Statewide Transportation Plan
Statewide – Today, the Transportation Commission marked the beginning of a next era of transportation in Colorado. The Statewide Transportation Plan is a vision document that outlines what the transportation system will look like over the next 10 and 25 years.
“These are exciting but challenging times for transportation in our state. Increasing population and employment are putting greater demand on the existing statewide transportation system. Changing demographics and travel behavior are increasing demand for greater modal choice,” said Ed Peterson, Transportation Commission Chair. “Our transportation system is a key element of a vibrant and globalized state economy. Transportation investments will create and enhance access to jobs, enhance freight movement, support increased trade, and improve economic competitiveness.”
With limited funding available, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) developed the Statewide Transportation Plan to guide investment for Colorado’s multi-modal transportation system balancing:
- Preservation and maintenance, and incorporation of risk-based asset management,
- Efficient system operations and management practices,
- Capacity improvements, and
- Incorporation of safety in all areas.
“The 2040 Statewide Transportation Plan serves as an excellent starting point for moving CDOT into the position of becoming the best DOT in the nation,” said Shailen Bhatt, CDOT Executive Director. “This bold and achievable goal is only reached through a clear blueprint for maintaining and improving the state’s transportation system over the next 10 to 25 years – and the 2040 Statewide Transportation Plan is the innovate blueprint that will help CDOT achieve this.” CDOT has also outline several strategic initiatives to achieve the outlined goals.
- To achieve the SAFETY goal, the Plan outlines data-driven processes to reduce crashes and education strategies to modify driver behavior, helping move Colorado towards zero deaths.
- To enhance MOBILITY, it addresses how to improve operational efficiencies regionally and at a corridor level; future projects will look at opportunities to provide more mobility choice. Lastly, CDOT plans to enhance travel reliability and reduce congestion through the use of managed lanes which include HOV lanes and tolled express lanes.
- To promote ECONOMIC VITALITY, CDOT will consider economic benefits when selecting project, including job creation, job access and economic savings. The agency is also exploring alternative funding sources to ensure the transportation system helps maintain the state’s economic competitiveness.
- To preserve and MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM, CDOT will implement its risk-based asset management plan which focuses more on preventative maintenance and using risk factors to determine which roads, bridges, tunnels, culverts and other assets need to be addressed first - doing the right repairs at the right time.
The plan also identifies that annual funding for transportation can no longer keep pace with the costs of operating, maintaining, and improving the statewide transportation system, outlining an approximately $800 million annual gap to meet the needs of Colorado.
“Like many other states, Colorado needs to explore funding options and finance mechanisms to stretch dollars further, replace declining gas tax revenues, and reduce dependency on uncertain federal funding,” added Bhatt.
CDOT developed the Statewide Transportation Plan in discussions with nearly 60,000 Coloradans and its partner Transportation Planning Regions and Metropolitan Planning Organizations over the last year. It was created in a web-based format as a better way to communicate with the public. The plan can be accessed on www.coloradotransportationmatters.com and a summary of the plan can be see on this video: https://www.youtube.com/
