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Tolling Points

Colorado Makes a Wider Economic Case for Highway Infrastructure

By: 
Bill Cramer
Category: 
Stories

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) released some tremendously useful research earlier this month, looking at the economic cost of highway congestion and the wider economic benefits of clearing it.

Just weeks before IBTTA opens its 84th Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Denver, the studies were the focus of a great article [subscription required] in the Denver Business Journal that shows how highway improvements drive economic progress.  If you don’t have subscription, here are some of the highlights.

“Sitting in traffic jams isn’t just aggravating. It’s expensive,” the article opens. “There’s the cost of the gasoline you’re burning as you inch along a clogged highway, and the wear and tear the start-and-stop motion puts on your vehicle, not to mention the lost value of wasted time as you stare at the license plate in front of you.”

But just as congestion “can damage the economy, eliminating congestion can spur economic development—with benefits rippling far beyond the jobs created by a specific construction project,” writes reporter Cathy Proctor. “The value of the savings in time and fuel alone soar into the billions of dollars for big projects like rebuilding and expanding Interstate 70 across Denver’s northern flank.”

Crunching the Numbers

The Journal based its report on economic analysis commissioned by the Colorado Department of Transportation that went beyond the standard assessments of the jobs created by specific infrastructure projects.

“This time, researchers used computer models to estimate the value of time and fuel savings across millions of motorists using this new bridge or that expanded highway, and assessed the economic value of those savings being reinvested back into the community,” Proctor explains. That’s just as well, because “it’s a return-on-investment story that state highway officials have to tell if they hope to raise scarce money for a project.”

The new data will guide legislators and officials as they navigate the twin challenges of declining gas tax revenues and surging demand for infrastructure. “We always look at the cost-benefit analysis in any of these investments,” said CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt. “We’re not looking to just throw money willy-nilly at a problem. We want to understand, if we’re making an investment on a project, what is the return on that money?” Bhatt will be speaking at IBTTA’s meeting in Denver.

The Yogi Berra Principle

Today, Colorado has one of the fastest-growing state economies in the United States. But local business leaders like Tom Clark, CEO of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, are concerned that business will slow down if roads don’t speed up.

“It will be like Yogi Berra said, ‘Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded,’” he told the Journal.

“There’s no question traffic jams cost drivers and businesses money,” Proctor adds. “The cost of congestion takes its toll on existing commerce, and businesses looking to expand here will strike traffic-clogged Colorado from consideration.”

The good news is that CDOT is asking the tough questions and crunching the detailed numbers to prevent that possible future. It also means IBTTA is about to meet in a community that has every reason to have an intense interest in what the global tolling industry has to offer.

Register before it’s too late! IBTTA’s 84th Annual Meeting and Exhibition takes place in Denver September 11-14, 2016.

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