Colorado Bridge Replacements Benefit From FASTER Funding
In August 2007, the safety of bridges on the U.S. highway system came into the spotlight following the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a result of that accident, Colorado took a closer look at its bridges and how to accelerate replacement of poor bridges across the state. Six years later, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation rates 95% of the state’s bridges in “good” or fair condition.
CDOT’s rapid progress on repairing and replacing the state’s deficient bridges is due to the FASTER (Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery) legislation passed in March 2009. The legislation created the Colorado Bridge Enterprise (CBE) and identified a dedicated funding source for repairing and replacing poor bridges across the state highway system.