Agency spent $83M on roads, transit in 2008

The four member governments of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority spent more than $83 million in 2008 on road construction and maintenance projects and on transit, according to the agency's annual report to citizens.

The $71 million in revenue raised in 2008 by a 1 percent tax approved by voters in 2004 - and carryover funds from previous years - allowed Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Manitou Springs and Green Mountain Falls to start or complete major projects they otherwise could not have afforded. The money also supplemented maintenance budgets hard hit by a decline in sales tax revenue, officials have said.

A majority of the revenue - 55 percent - is for capital improvement projects; 35 percent for maintenance; and 10 percent for transit. The capital portion of the tax ends in 2014, when the tax will drop to 0.45 percent unless voters renew the current rate.

Colorado Springs got the largest share of capital improvement revenue in 2008, about $53.4 million, because 75 percent of the tax revenue is generated in the city. The maintenance revenue is apportioned to the entities based on population. Ramah earlier this year joined the PPRTA and will receive a relatively small amount for street maintenance in 2009.

Colorado Springs used its 2008 capital money to complete the $35.8 million Austin Bluffs Parkway interchange project, build the $8.6 million Cimarron bridge and make $1.9 million in improvements to the Constitution Avenue and Circle Drive intersection.

The funding, said PPRTA officials, has allowed the city to complete 50 percent of the capital improvement projects identified as priorities by voters in 2004. Another 24 percent of the projects are under way.

The maintenance part of the PPRTA revenue allowed the city to fill more than 38,000 potholes, fix more than 15 miles of broken curbs or gutters, replace 42 miles of curbs and gutters on repaved roadways and resurface 90 lane miles of streets.

El Paso County used its capital money, about $12.6 million, on improvements on South Academy Boulevard between Interstate 25 and State Highway 115. The work included two new bridges, reconfigured southbound ramps to I-25, additional lanes for westbound traffic, extensive work near Pikes Peak Community College and new signals at Highway 115. The county also used capital money to complete a four-lane section of Baptist Road and to build a sound wall along Baptist between Gleneagle and Desiree drives.

The county used $3.4 million of its $4.2 million maintenance revenue for 26 road paving projects on almost 25 lane miles of road. The remainder of the maintenance money will be used this year on other paving projects. The county was also able to do extensive curb and gutter work and improve drainage on 18 streets.

Manitou Springs used its share of the 2008 capital revenue, about $44,000, as a match for $656,000 in federal funds to help pay for its ongoing Manitou Avenue Streetscape Project. The project, which began in 2004, has included pedestrian, roadway, storm drainage, street lighting and landscape improvements, plus a roundabout at Manitou Avenue and Ruxton Drive.

Green Mountain Falls used its capital funds, about $8,700, to widen Ute Pass Avenue. It used its maintenance money, about $39,000, to control erosion and to lay aggregate on city streets.

The PPRTA projects a 16 percent decline in sales tax revenue in 2009, about $11.3 million less than the $70.8 million originally projected, because of the recession.

Colorado Springs capital improvement projects largely will be unaffected - thanks mostly to $35 million the city received in federal economic stimulus funds to help expand Woodmen Road. A portion of the capital money previously set aside for that project will be used on other capital projects, including in the county. Maintenance work among member governments is expected to take a hit, however.

DETAILS

The Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority's 2008 Annual Report to the Citizens is available at a variety of locations. On Friday, it is expected to be posted on the authority's website, www.pprta.com. It also will be available at news racks at all King Soopers and Safeway stores in the region, and more than 200,000 copies will be distributed through area publications, including The Gazette.