CDOT still reviewing I-25 toll management bid

DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation is in the process of reviewing a bid that would allow a private contractor to provide certain Interstate 25 improvements in exchange for future toll revenues. 

Roadis USA Holding LLC submitted an unsolicited bid about three months ago to CDOT and its High Performance Transportation Enterprise division, which oversees Colorado toll roads and public-private transportation partnerships. The bid proposes a series of expansion and improvement projects along the high-growth stretch of Interstate 25 between the northern Denver suburbs and Fort Collins. 

The move came after CDOT last year lifted a moratorium on the receipt of such proposals.

Staff with the department are mulling over a condensed version Roadis’ proposal and are weighing whether to request a much more detailed plan, CDOT project director Abra Geissler told BizWest on Monday during a tour of ongoing I-25 improvements in Northern Colorado. 

The department is still quite a bit removed from a decision whether to approve specific projects proposed by Roadis, she said. 

Should CDOT choose to move ahead, the department would have to open those projects up to a competitive bidding process. 

Roadis’ plans include adding:

• Auxiliary lanes and other safety and congestion enhancements in Segment 2 (from U.S. Highway 36 to 120th Avenue).
• A new bridge and transit hub at 88th Ave.
• The extension of express lanes in Segments 3 (from E-470 to Colorado Highway 7) and 4 (Colorado Highway 7 to Colorado Highway 66).
• The extension of express lanes in Segment 5 (Colorado Highway 66 to Colorado Highway 56). 

Roadis is no stranger to bidding on CDOT toll road management projects.

The company has offered E-470 Public Highway Authority $9.2 billion to lease the E-470 roadway for 50 years and collect toll payments in exchange for managing and maintaining the road.

A volunteer group called E-470 Citizen Review Committee studied Roadis’ proposal and determined in January that more consideration is needed prior to issuing a recommendation.

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