CDOT seeks $45 million for plowing, road repair amid tough winter

Colorado transportation leaders are poised Thursday to set aside $25 million for emergency road repairs and repaving on mountain highways torn up by one of the heaviest winter snowfall seasons on record.

That request for road-repair money from the Colorado Department of Transportation — which will target trouble spots on U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass and other routes — comes as it also asks for $19.6 million to plug its strained snow-plowing budget. And there’s still several weeks left before the winter storm season typically ends in the high country.

“As of March 31, this is the fifth … most potent winter we’ve had in the last 50 years,” John Lorme, CDOT’s director of maintenance and operations, said Wednesday afternoon during a presentation to the Colorado Transportation…