Toll road bill tabled after public outcry

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Hundreds of rural residents, including many from Larimer and Weld counties, surprised legislators in March when they descended on the state Capitol to protest a proposed toll road east of Interstate 25.

The angry citizens, calling the project a giant land grab, also decried old laws that allow private companies to build toll roads in Colorado and to condemn private property along the route.

"This is a scandal the size of Enron," said John Byrnes, a Weld County resident.

As a result of the ruckus, House Bill 1030 was tabled indefinitely by the Senate Transportation Committee on March 22, removing the bill from further consideration during this legislative session. The bill would have allowed for the setting of uniform tolls along the roadway and would also have allowed the developer to build a railroad and to sell off the toll road assets.

Ray Wells, owner of FRTRC, had no comment on the committee's delaying action.

According to Sen. Stephanie Takis, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, the toll road issue will be studied in depth this summer by the Transportation Legislative Review Committee. Her primary concern with the bill was lack of clarity about the state's responsibility on bond funding for the toll road.

In February, before property owners in the toll road corridor got wind of the project, HB 1030 breezed through the State House of Representatives on a 62 - 3 vote. "We need to embarrass our representatives for passing this," Byrnes stated.

Opposition mounted

As word spread in early March about the toll road, opposition organized quickly in both the northern and southern counties along the route. Chief among property owners' concerns was a private company's use of eminent domain, a power usually reserved for the government. FRTRC owner Wells staked a claim in 1986 on a 12-mile corridor spanning 210 miles, from Wellington to Pueblo. Under a Colorado law dating to 1882, he can condemn private property along the corridor for the purpose of building a toll road. Wells' plan also calls for a railroad, light rail and service pods.

Spokespeople for FRTRC have said that financing is already lined up for the project, but they have not divulged who the investors are. Advantages of a new toll road, the company says, include reducing congestion on Interstate 25 and moving coal train traffic away from Front Range urban areas. Besides these issues, many lawmakers were attracted to the idea of building a new highway without using taxpayer dollars.

Future uncertain

The dust has settled somewhat from the lively Senate hearing on HB 1030, but the future of the toll road remains murky. "It's still up in the air," said Stu Hicklin of western Weld County, one of the opposition leaders. FRTRC still has a claim on the corridor, as well as the power of eminent domain.

"We bought some time for the legislators to review the existing laws" related to private companies building toll roads and exercising eminent domain, Hicklin said. He added that a similar case in New Jersey will be heard soon by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The property owners' group, the Eastern Plains Citizens Coalition, plans to pursue both legal and political means to protect their homes. "The road itself isn't necessarily a bad thing," Hicklin said, "but the undetermined location and the methodology of the corporation are wrong."

At a March 19 meeting in Nunn, landowners voiced concern that if their property were condemned for a toll road, they would not receive fair market value. Furthermore, they contended, the existence of Wells' claim itself could reduce their property values and make it difficult to refinance or sell their property. Some were furious that nothing about the claim was listed on their title insurance policies. Others noted that the proposed road would go through several natural areas protected by the state. A 7,000-acre agricultural operation owned by Anheuser-Busch also lies within the corridor.

Other concerns were the lack of public input on the project and the fact that FRTRC's eminent domain powers have no expiration date.

Garland Aberegg, who owns 129 acres along the corridor, said another problem is that, with few interchanges, the road cuts Weld County in two. "Think about the Great Wall of China," he said. "You can't get over it."

State Sen. Dave Owen of Weld County said he supports the idea of a legislative committee looking at the toll road issue. "I'm not opposed to toll roads," he said, "but the issue is private property rights and eminent domain."