Federal Infrastructure Package To Create 'Less Congestion, More Safety' For Colorado

DENVER (CBS4) - Late Friday night Congress passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package which was part of President Joe Biden's economic agenda. It would fund projects like upgrading roads, bridges, railways, broadband internet and transportation. The bill will also allot money to address climate change.

Many Colorado leaders supported the passage of the bill, including Gov. Jared Polis.

"This country and Colorado specifically we've been under investing in infrastructure for the last 20 years," said Tony Milo, Executive Director of the Colorado Contractors Association. "The crisis that people know about is our roads and bridges and congestion problems on I-25, 270, and I-70 going up to the mountains, and the more silent crisis is our water and waste water that is underground and people can't see it."

While all four Colorado Democratic representatives in Congress voted in favor of the bill, all three Colorado Republican representatives voted against it. Milo believes this infrastructure package is long overdue, but said it will improve the quality of life for Coloradans and bring more jobs.

"It's probably (going to bring) about $150 to $200 million per year to Colorado," Milo said. "We'll see more roads and bridges being repaired, less congestion, more safety."

Milo said it's likely we'll see the benefits of this bill as early as spring.

"We've got plenty of projects on the shelf that are shovel ready," said Milo. "Our department of transportation, CDOT, has done a great job putting together a 10-year plan, so we're prepared."