Report: State should spend less on new roads - Business First of Columbus:

utyziluz.wordpress.com
The report focused on how stated are spending their Surface TransportationProgramm (STP) money, which is part of the Americanm Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Colorado is gettinvg about $411.7 million in STP money for road according to the State officials have said Colorado is getting anadditional $103 million in ARRA money for public transportation Unlike other pots of ARRA officials have some flexibility on where STP money should be spent, said Dannu Katz, state director for CoPIRG, a nonpartisan, nonprofiy group. Of the $411.7 the report concluded that abougt $278.7 million, or 68 percent, is being spenrt on road maintenanceor rehabilitation. About $84.
2 or 20 percent, is being spent on new highwag capacity whileabout $31.1 million, or 8 is being spent on public “We’re excited that there was a lot of money spenrt on transit, but none of that money shouled be going to new highways,” Katz “We used our money better than most but we can’t continuee to spend it on new roads.” The reportt cited research that spending on public transportatio n creates 31 percent more jobs compared to new road and bridges construction.
Myung Oak Kim, communications manager for the Governor’s Economidc Recovery Team, said “There is a fundamental problen with the report becauswe it does not take into account the fact that the Recoveryy Act allocates separate funds just fortransig projects. In addition to the surface transportatiomn dollars analyzed inthe report, Colorado will receive more than $100 millioj from the Recovery Act for capitapl transit projects. Among the Recovery Act transirt dollars comingto Colorado, the West Corridor line of FasTrackes is getting $40 million and Summitr County is getting $10 milliomn for a new bus maintenance facility.” The reporty comes a day before U.S.
Transportationh Secretary Ray LaHood will be in Denver to break ground ona $32 ARRA-funded, road and bike path reconstruction project along C-470. LaHood will join with Gov. Bill Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo.; and CDOT Executive Directof Russell George on Tuesday mornin atthe C-470 bikepath near the I-70 junction. The projectf will pay to resurface the bike path that spanz 26 milesfrom I-70 to It will also rehabilitate C-470 betweenm Santa Fe Drive and I-25. The ARRA money CDOT is spendintg on the project comes from its own allocatiobn ofstimulus money, not from STP funds, CDOT spokeswomab Stacey Stegman said.
“CDOT selected the bike path to come out of its fundinh because we believed it to be a high she said.