The head honcho of the Federal Highway Administration was in Denver last week to celebrate the opening, finally, of the $1.2 billion park over Interstate 70 in Elyria-Swansea that no one wanted except for government bureaucrats.
In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, Stephanie Pollack signaled the project is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can come to expect from transportation infrastructure projects in the future under Democrat control — fewer highways, more feel-good boondoggles.
The billion-dollar interstate park ceremony lauded by the Biden administration, Gov. Polis, and City of Denver coincided yet contrasted sharply with the announcement out of Aurora to fix its 14-year road maintenance backlog without raising taxes.
Raising taxes should never be a prerequisite to repairing our roads. In Aurora, we prioritized transportation funding and passed a plan to repair roads without digging deeper into taxpayers pockets. #BuildUpAurora #copolitics pic.twitter.com/KD4yJFRlxG
— Dustin Zvonek (@DustinZvonek) December 1, 2022
The plan, which was unanimously approved by the city council, is the brainchild of Councilman Dustin Zvonek to cover the $35 million cost and puts a new program in place to keep up with annual maintenance.
From the Denver Gazette:
… It created a Road Maintenance Fund that dedicated revenue from the general fund for capital projects to keeping neighborhood roads in “good” or better condition, based on the pavement condition index. The fund will not only provide continuing funds for road maintenance but prevent any confusion about where that money will (come) from, Zvonek said. Between 2023 and 2027, Aurora plans to put $165.5 million toward roadway maintenance, with annual road maintenance work.
Colorado, take note.
It’s a beautiful thing when elected officials just fix the roads and fill the damn potholes without a political fuss or jacking up taxes.
Please do it more often.