US Highway 36 finance deal to get public airing

State transportation officials are holding public meetings about a deal that would allow a private company to take over the operation of the highway between Denver and Boulder for the next 50 years.

The first is Wednesday in Westminster and the second will be in Louisville on Thursday, following a briefing with state lawmakers concerned about the deal.

Plenary Roads was chosen by the Colorado Department of Transportation to perform $425 million in construction on U.S. Highway 36 under the state’s first private-public partnership. The company will collect tolls from new lanes and will maintain and plow the highway.

CDOT says it would take 20 years before there would be enough public funding for such a project.

The deal is expected to close by month’s end.