Part of what makes Colorado a great place to live is the many recreational opportunities it offers to enthusiasts. From skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and ice-climbing in the winter to hiking, camping, cycling and rafting in the summer, the mountains offer a plethora of fun activities to enjoy within a few hours' travel from major metro areas. This bounty of opportunity has a downside, though.  As anybody who has spent time, particularly on the weekends, traveling on I-70 in the mountains between Grand Junction and Denver knows, the traffic can be unbearable.  

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have been working on finding a solution to alleviate the traffic problems on I-70 for at least a decade. In 2004, they released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on this issue. This EIS, however, did not even look at mass transit as a part of the solution and many stakeholders, including CEC, were very frustrated by this. With things at an impasse, in 2007, Governor Ritter's administration directed the Colorado Department of Transportation to enter into a conflict resolution process to with stakeholders to move forward. Stakeholders in this "Collaborative Effort" included representatives of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), communities along I-70, the trucking and ski industries, CEC, and transit and highway advocates.  

In June 2008, the members of the I-70 Collaborative Effort team reached agreement on a "Preferred Alternative," a solution including multi-modal strategies to improve the corridor with high-speed rail and highway improvements. Specifically, the members committed to evaluate and implement, if feasible, a high-speed train along the I-70 west corridor and make specific highway improvements. They also agreed not to make any additional highway improvements (such as 8-laning I-70) beyond those specifically described until either the train is functioning or the studies demonstrate that the train system cannot be funded or implemented by 2025. Several studies are planned to provide further information to help the team evaluate the viability of the high-speed passenger rail system. The first one to be completed, by the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority, has found that high speed rail is technically and financially feasible in the mountain corridor.

Under federal law, CDOT and FHWA have to take the Preferred Alternative and redo the Draft EIS and continue through the EIS process. The agencies have been working on this since 2008, and released the new Revised Draft EIS on September 10, 2010 for public comment. The public comment period goes until November 8, 2010, meaning any member of the public can comment on the draft. There are also 4 public hearings on the draft: Oct. 5th in Silverthorne, Oct. 6th in Evergreen, Oct. 7th in Eagle, and Oct. 21st in Denver.  Look here for more details.

Please stay tuned for more details. CEC will be submitting comments on the Revised Draft and will continue working with the Collaborative Effort as the EIS process moves forward into second tier studies.