The Colorado Transportation Commission has awarded $15 million of FASTER (Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation & Economic Recovery) funds to governments and agencies statewide for local transit projects.

Over the next three years, the Colorado Dept. of Transportation’s Division of Transit and Rail will distribute grants to 62 projects. FASTER is funding 80% of each project, with the local entity supplying the remaining 20%.

“Since the requests exceeded the available funding, we needed to make sure each project was properly prioritized, requiring a collaborative effort between our six regions, the transportation planning regions and metropolitan planning organizations,” said CDOT Division of Transit and Rail Director Mark Imhoff.  “The evaluating criteria included project necessity and financial need, its readiness, how well it’ll improve mobility and if the project remains viable over the long-term.”

The commission awarded $23.3 million in FASTER funds for 23 statewide and regional transit projects in December.

CDOT’s Division of Transit and Rail was created by legislation in 2009 to, among other things, oversee and assist transit programs across the state.  It has the authority to promote, plan, design, finance, operate, maintain and contract for transit services such as passenger rail, buses and advanced guideway systems.

A provision in the legislation provides for the allocation of FASTER funds into the State Transit and Rail Fund, which provides grants to local governments and transit agencies for projects such as new bus stops, maintenance facilities or multi-modal transportation centers.

Specific information about individual projects is available at: www.coloradodot.info/projects/faster/TransitProjects.