Rural Colorado Road Concerns Gain Ground As Bipartisan Resolution Moves to full Senate

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette

A Republican legislator said he was pleasantly surprised on Wednesday when the state Senate’s transportation panel advanced a resolution brought to him by county commissioners urging the Colorado Department of Transportation to invest more money to fix roads.

Road maintenance is “probably the No. 1 issue” in his seven-county district, said Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling.

Morgan County’s transportation infrastructure is the worst, he added.

According to a 2023 CDOT assessment, 70% of the roads in the county are in the “red” for maintenance, meaning they’ll soon be undrivable. A Reason Foundation report ranked Colorado 47th in the nation for rural road conditions.

Pelton mentioned a 2021 funding legislation, Senate Bill 260, which he said included too small of an amount for rural road projects and nowhere near enough to cover Morgan County’s needs.

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