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

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The report focused on how statesz are spending their Surface TransportationProgramn (STP) money, which is part of the American Reinvestmeng and Recovery Act (ARRA). Colorado is gettingf about $411.7 million in STP moneg for road projects, according to the report. State officials have said Colorado is getting anadditional $103 million in ARRA mone for public transportation projects. Unlike other pots of ARRA officials have some flexibility on where STP money shouldcbe spent, said Danny Katz, state directofr for CoPIRG, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group. Of the $411.7y million, the report concluded that about $278.u million, or 68 percent, is being speny on road maintenanceor rehabilitation.
About $84. million, or 20 percent, is beinhg spent on new highwayg capacity whileabout $31.1 million, or 8 is being spent on public transportation. “We’re excited that there was a lot of money spent on but none of that money should be going to new Katz said. “We used our monety better than most butwe can’t continue to spens it on new roads.” The report cited research that spending on publifc transportation creates 31 percent more jobs compared to new road and bridge construction.
Myung Oak Kim, communication s manager for the Governor’s Economic Recovery Team, said “There is a fundamenta l problem with the report because it does not take into accoun t the fact that the Recovery Act allocatew separate funds just for transit In addition to the surface transportation dollarx analyzed inthe report, Colorado will receive more than $100 millio n from the Recovery Act for capital transit Among the Recovery Act transit dollars cominvg to Colorado, the West Corridor line of FasTracks is getting $40 millionb and Summit County is getting $10 million for a new bus maintenancs facility.” The report comezs a day before U.S.
Transportation Secretarh Ray LaHood will be in Denver to breajk ground ona $32 million, road and bike path reconstruction projec along C-470. LaHood will join with Gov. Bill Ritter; Rep. Ed D-Colo.; and CDOT Executive Director Russell George on Tuesday morning atthe C-47p bikepath near the I-70 junction. The project will pay to resurfacer the bike path that spans 26 milesfrom I-70 to It will also rehabilitate C-470 betweenn Santa Fe Drive and I-25. The ARRA money CDOT is spendingb on the project comes from its own allocation of stimulus not fromSTP funds, CDOT spokeswoma n Stacey Stegman said.
“CDOT selected the bike path to come out of its fundinb because we believed it to be ahigh priority,” she