U.S. 36 – What’s the Deal?

Where are Profits Pitted Against the Public Interest and What Protections Are in Place?

As Colorado enters into a 50-year agreement with a private company, Plenary Roads Denver, to complete and manage U.S. 36 and part of I-25, many in the public remain confused and concerned. This report covers three major aspects of the U.S. 36 deal, The Infrastructure Project, The Financial and Management Deal with Plenary, and The Process for Developing and Approving the Deal

Report

CoPIRG

As Colorado enters into a 50-year agreement with a private company, Plenary Roads Denver, to complete and manage U.S. 36 and part of I-25, many in the public remain confused and concerned. Most of the final details of the deal were not posted until Friday, February 14th, by the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE), the division of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) responsible for developing this deal. Due to the short timeline between the posting of the 1,002 page document and the approval of the agreement by the HPTE Board six days later, CoPIRG was unable to complete our initial assessment in time to help the public understand and weigh the proposal before the HPTE Board’s vote.

However, it remains important to answer the question – what’s the deal with U.S. 36 – as well as to identify next steps for potential private road deals moving forward.

This report covers three major aspects of the U.S. 36 deal:

  1. The Infrastructure Project
  2. The Financial and Management Deal with Plenary
  3. The Process for Developing and Approving the Deal

Click on the link above to download the report