CDOT explains protocol for express lanes in I-25 Gap project

The Colorado Department of Transportation confirmed Wednesday that, despite strong public opposition, it will include express lanes as part of the widening of the Interstate 25 “Gap” between Monument and Castle Rock.

CDOT has repeatedly said that considering express lanes, or so-called managed or pay lanes, was a requirement of receiving $65 million in federal funding for the project.

But many people believe that widening the Gap from two to three lanes in each direction of the 18-mile stretch, and making the third lanes express lanes, is unfair because their tax dollars already are helping to pay for the project.

Tamara Rollison, a CDOT spokesperson, said some people don’t like the express lane concept because they don’t understand how it works, being the first managed highway lane on the northern end of El Paso County.

She compared the Gap project to a similar widening of 16 miles of U.S. 36 between Boulder and Denver.

“There was some public concern then, but localities supported it because there was a need for it,” Rollison said. “Drivers got used to it, and now it works well enough that it has reduced overall traffic congestion by up to 30 percent.”

Rollison said an express lane has specific points for drivers to enter and exit, with a double solid white line serving as a buffer between free lanes of traffic.

Sensors along a highway, she said, monitor sensors in a vehicle to determine the time of travel in the express lane and the cost of driving in it.

“It’s there as a choice for drivers if they want it,” Rollison said.

There is strict enforcement of the use of a lane, she said, and officers will cite unauthorized drivers.

“People think the entire interstate will be a toll lane, like E-470 to the airport,” Rollison said. “That’s not true. It’s just the one lane in each direction.”KRDO NewsChannel 13 spoke with several drivers familiar with U.S. 36 who said mixed feelings remain about the express lanes there.

Local leaders were unsuccessful in a late effort to convince CDOT to increase the Gap widening to four lanes in each direction, and said it was the only way they’d support express lanes for the project.