Colorado awarded more than $7.2 billion from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Colorado has been awarded more than $7.2 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and today, Colorado elected officials celebrated those gains.

The federal law’s funding is scheduled to expire in 2026 unless reauthorized by Congress. The act invested in surface transportation, drinking water, wastewater infrastructure, ports and waterways, airports, and passenger and freight rail.

However, the future of the infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act could look very different by 2025 under the next presidential administration.

On Friday, a statement from Gov. Jared Polis said the Infrastructure Act has funded 1,000 projects that could create more than 40,000 jobs in Colorado to accomplish transportation, clean energy, clean water, climate resilience, and broadband projects.

Combined with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the state has raised almost $8.6 billion. The largest portion, about $2.6 billion, went for roads, bridges, and “major projects.”

Another $860 million went for clean water, including $250 million toward the Arkansas Valley Conduit that will bring long-delayed clean water to 40 communities in the Lower Arkansas Valley. Next Friday is the deadline for applications for funding through the second pot of drought mitigation funding under the Inflation Reduction Act. That’s a big date for the Colorado River Conservation District, which is hoping for $50 million to complete the funding needed to purchase the Shoshone water rights held by Xcel. 

Funding for drought, wildfire, and flood, part of climate resilience, totaled $753 million.

In the same statement, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, noted, “After decades of investing everywhere but the United States, Congress came together three years ago to pass the most significant bipartisan investment in our infrastructure since Eisenhower was President. This historic law is helping Colorado communities build roads and bridges, expand broadband access, and improve wastewater infrastructure to keep Coloradans healthy, safe, and connected. There is no state better prepared than Colorado to benefit from these investments and lead the rest of the country into the 21st century.”

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, noting the funding for the conduit and $100 million for improvements along I-70 at Floyd Hill, said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “has invested in 21st-century infrastructure all over Colorado. That’s only the last three years; we’re not done yet.”

Given the results of last week’s election, the future of both acts is uncertain.

At a recent National Conference of State Legislatures gathering, Susan Howard, director of policy and government relations at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, told the audience, “It remains to be seen if the next bill will be a capital ‘I’ infrastructure bill or a surface transportation reauthorization bill.”

President-elect Donald Trump told the Economic Club of New York in September he would cancel all unspent funds under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Politico said would likely prompt the Biden administration to get those dollars out the door sooner rather than later. The Biden administration has until Inauguration Day 2025 to award those dollars.

While funding for construction projects is likely to remain untouched, according to several construction industry experts, the infrastructure act is not likely to remain untouched either.

The League of American Bicyclists pointed out in an analysis this week that funding for “bicycling, walking and transit projects are not in the federal interest” from the Trump administration. That includes eliminating “Vision Zero,” which the city and county of Denver has launched to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. Eliminating Vision Zero was a stated objective of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. 

But there’s also a flip side: that Republicans in Congress would “put their own stamp” on both acts, given the billions of dollars that have gone to their states. An analysis by the Global Infrastructure Investment Association pointed out that three-quarters of the clean energy funding from the Inflation Reduction Act went to Republican districts.

Friday, the Upper Colorado River Commission announced its awarding of $7 million from the infrastructure law to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The funding is for Colorado water users within the Upper Colorado River Basin that needs a device to measure their water diversions.