CDOT Leads the Way in Not Building Highways
Traffic headaches on I-25 through Denver, Colorado, have driven the state to the realize that something has to change, and that the solution can no longer be, “Just one more lane.”
“As our region continues growing, we simply can’t take for granted that our current infrastructure and systems will always be able to support our population,” Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) states in an overview video about a state-wide shift in transportation priorities.
This year, in conjunction with DRCOG’s regional Metro Vision, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) officially announced that they would not proceed with a planned widening of Interstate 25 Central through Denver, along with a few other highway expansion plans. Instead, the state of Colorado is realizing that highway expansions won’t solve their traffic issues and will further burden a system already long due on maintenance needs. Instead, the state decided to build a more robust transportation system through investing in public transit and increasing walkability.
This decision came about after non-profit organizations, such as the Colorado Public Interest Group (CoPIRG), spoke out against highway expansion plans. Local coalitions brought to light the neighborhood destruction a highway expansion would cause, the increase in health issues bound to happen due to exhaust pollution, and the fact that there would be no funds to maintain the billion-dollar investment. This plan was also catapulted by a 2021 state legislation where Colorado aims to focus on aligning its transportation investments with its climate goals.
"Colorado is an example of what can happen when we actually align transportation spending with our values,” said Strong Towns member Tony Dutzik, associate director and senior policy analyst with Frontier Group. “In 2022, there are still many leaders who claim to be climate champions who back highway expansions and many who claim to be fiscal conservatives supporting wildly expensive boondoggle projects. Colorado is showing all of us that there's a different way forward. If they can chart a more environmentally and fiscally sustainable course on transportation policy, the rest of us can, too."
Departments of transportation have notoriously turned toward expanding highways to solve traffic congestion. It’s a destructive, wasteful practice, and ineffective at addressing congestion. Expanding urban and suburban highways encourages longer car commutes and more development at the suburban fringe, quickly canceling out any benefits in congestion reduction. Strong Towns Founder and President Chuck Marohn says that "we have already reaped the main benefits of the interstate system (connecting places across the country for the flow of goods and people). Building more is only doing harm. We can't get any more value out of this system—just destruction.”
As Colorado shifts its transportation focus and cancels highway expansions, DRCOG notes in their 2050 Metro Vision plan they will be investing in projects that promote alternative transportation options, and which recognize “the unique context of each project and its location, and that provide multiple benefits consistent with the investment priorities.”
CDOT’s decision to cancel the I-25 Central highway expansion is significant, but it’s made for an even more impactful decision when considering where the original funds of the highway project will now be redirected.
“It's one thing to stop a highway widening project,” said Danny Katz, executive director of CoPIRG. “But if those dollars just go to a different highway widening project that's not really making much progress. And so what was so significant about the win both at CDOT and DRCOG is a lot of the dollars that would have potentially gone to the I-25 Central project were shifted over to things like BRT (bus rapid transit).”
Marohn says that CDOT is being a leader in shifting its transportation efforts away from highway expansion. He went on to say that “they’re a model for others to follow and learn from because they are dealing realistically with the budget implications of continual highway expansions.”
The Metro Vision plan for the Denver region goes as far to note that current roadway systems are not well maintained. Earlier this year, CDOT said that they didn’t have the fiscal ability to build more lanes and maintain them.
The Strong Towns End Highway Expansions Campaign states that until we have a credible plan for maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, we must stop building more roads and bridges. Colorado is walking in the right direction by beginning to cancel its highway expansion plans. Residents who have fought hard for this victory have celebrated, but note there is still work to be done going forward.
“It is the case that some of the dollars from the I-25 Central project went to a highway project up in the west side of Denver,” said Katz. The project, called Floyd Hill, will be adding a new lane that connects with the mountain communities. “And I think, you know, there's a real challenge with that project.”
Most city officials are operating in good faith, trying their best to make decisions that will help their community. Even when they've made bad decisions in the past, it's never too late to start making good ones.