Paying for road repairs not a priority for Colorado voters

With a growing population and economy, more and more cars continue to travel on Colorado roads, so two propositions to help pay for repairs and transportation projects were up for a vote.

Proposition 109 would have required the state to borrow up to 3.5 billion dollars to finance 66 different highway projects. That was rejected by 61 percent of voters.

Proposition 110 would have increased the state sales tax to help repair the roads. That was also rejected by nearly the same amount of people.

El Paso County Commissioner Mark Waller said this is now an issue for the state legislature.

“It’s an issue of prioritization. The dollars are there in the budget for transportation spending, it’s just that the legislature hasn’t engaged in the legislative will to spend those dollars on transportation. I think the money is there ,” said Waller.

Waller also tells us the legislature comes up about a billion dollars short every year, which isn’t allowing them to be proactive. They can only fix what needs to be fixed, causing other road issues that might come up to be placed on the back-burner.

As for what the future holds, Waller said he can guarantee that you will see transportation spending on a future ballot.