By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
Former State Sen. Ray Scott has been trying to hold the Colorado Department of Transportation accountable for more than a decade, and even after his term expired, he has stayed focused on the issue at the request of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
“We have had too many people killed on Colorado highways in the last few years, and this year has had devastating consequences to too many families,” Scott said.
In June 2024, two women, Candace Smith and Trinity Hasse, were killed on Highway 550 near Montrose when they stopped for flaggers in a CDOT work zone and were hit from behind by a speeding vehicle. Three additional people were injured when the truck speeding up behind them crashed into the vehicle the women were in.
In September 2024, three people were killed in Palisade, two of whom were members of the CDOT work crew.
The CDOT workers, Trent Umberger and Nathan Jones, were standing behind their truck removing a sign from the bed when a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit them. The Jeep was westbound on U.S. 6 near milepost 40. The CDOT vehicle was completely off the right side of the road with its lights and sign board activated. The Jeep driver ran off the right side of the road, hitting Umberger and Jones and the back of the truck. Kathi Ann Wallace was a passenger in the Jeep and she was also killed.
More than two dozen people have been killed this year in CDOT work zones, according to Scott. Although there have been multiple audits of CDOT that raised concerns about safety issues and waste and abuse of public funds, there doesn’t seem to be any accountability and demand for changes, Scott explains.
Because of the lack of response to elected state legislative leadership, a delegation of members of Congress, who are concerned about the lack of accountability, signed onto a letter addressed to Pete Buttigeig, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, demanding oversight.
Republican U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert (3rd District), Doug Lamborn (5th District) and Greg Lopez (4th District), along with House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (Missouri’s 6th), and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (Texas’ 19th) sent the letter to Buttigieg, shedding light on the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) failure to follow safety and project management standards.
“We write to bring to your attention a matter of growing concern regarding the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the oversight of federal transportation funds, safety standards and project management,” reads the letter.
As a point of interest, it was contractors working on projects with CDOT that sounded the alarm to both Scott and congressional leaders. According to Scott, contractors were coming forward in private to voice the concerns they had about safety standards and plans that were being ignored, in spite of on-site engineers’ concerns. Several contractors accused CDOT of withholding traffic flow plans, starting new construction without sign off from design engineers and improperly using safety equipment.
Scott says the contractors have told him they fear retaliation from CDOT if they speak publicly about the safety failures they saw and experienced on different project sites around the state.
“We are probably going to find a way to provide them with legal whistleblower status so they can testify safely in a hearing that pertains to oversight,” Scott said. “Typically, federal agencies leave the state agencies to govern themselves and do not interfere with local operations; however, the Federal Highway Administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the Federal-aid Highway Program, which includes the Highway Safety Improvement Program.”
The safety program is a core highway program intended to address and bolster safety needs and each state is required to develop and implement a strategic highway safety plan to address fatalities and serious injuries on highways and public roads.
In the letter, Lopez, who led the letter, wrote, “Over the past several years, Colorado’s population has experienced significant growth. This growth has compounded stresses on infrastructure and current projects administered by CDOT. Increased demand on transportation systems may contribute to more safety concerns for our highway workers.”
In a previous interview, Eastern Colorado Commissioner and former Colorado Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg once comedically said, “we have potholes so big you better wear your spurs to hang on.”
“Fixing the damn roads” was also a campaign promise Heidi Ganahl made in her Republican run for governor.
Tax dollars are already being stretched thin, the letter reads, and safety considerations should remain of utmost importance, the delegation says.
“Ensuring transparency, accountability and compliance with safety regulations should be a top priority for CDOT, especially when such large sums of federal dollars are being provided to protect the lives of Coloradans. The responsible use of federal funds and prioritization of safety is not just a state concern, but a national one. We understand numerous concerns have been raised by contractors working directly with CDOT, including a disregard for state and federal safety guidelines,” reads the letter to Buttigieg on behalf of the delegation.
“I think that we are opening Pandora’s Box with this request. I think the results of the audits will be made public and CDOT is going to have to answer some hard questions going forward,” predicted Scott.