Highlights COVID-19 Impact on Toll Rates, Financial Stability, and Bright Future for Roadway
Aurora, Colorado, May 13, 2021 — Today, E-470 released its 2020 annual report to the public. The 10-page report, which is available at E-470.com, covers a range of topics including completion of the Road Widening Project, which added a third lane in both directions of the highway from Quincy Avenue to I-70, a 2020 financial overview which affirms the financial strength of the self-funded Authority, and advancements in innovative transportation and tolling technology.
Most notably, the report highlights the Authority’s efforts to maintain affordability and provide customers with consistency during an otherwise unpredictable year. Originally voting in 2017, and unanimously reaffirming their decision in late 2019, the E-470 Board of Directors committed to freezing tollrates for three years, continuing into 2020. Despite facing unprecedented challenges and reduced toll traffic in 2020, E-470 not only honored the tollrate freeze throughout the year, but the Board of Directors also voted to freeze toll rates again in 2021 for both ExpressToll and License Plate Toll customers.
“We made a commitment to our customers to provide excellent service and an affordable, safe transportation choice in the Denver Metro-area,” said Executive Director Tim Stewart. “We are proud to be on solid-enough financial footing to honor that commitment, despite the external challenges we, and others in our industry are facing.”
Due to the financial stability of the Authority, as evidenced in the 2020 financial overview, the Authority continues to reinvest in improvements to the road conditions to provide the best service to its customers. The Authority has always been entirely self-funded and financed and does not use any local, state or federal funding. The Authority is actively paying down its debts and expanding services to meet the growing demand of the communities it serves.
The report’s 2020 financial summary notably reveals that the Authority wrapped up the year $12.1 million under its $62.7 million operating budget and $23.1 million under its $94.5 million capital budget. Despite challenges faced industry-wide, no critical projects related to roadway safety, maintenance or capital improvements were delayed or removed.
In addition to the tollrate freeze, the report showcases community give-back programs that are long-standing facets of the E-470 Public Highway Authority. The charitable foundation of E-470, the Transportation Safety Foundation (TSF), provided more than $20,000 in much-needed grant funding to nine organizations during 2020 as part of its effort to support transportation safety programs in the region.
About E-470 Public Highway Authority: E-470 is the 75-mph toll road running along the eastern perimeter of the Denver metropolitan area. E-470 is a user-financed roadway, receiving no local, state or federal funds for financing, construction, operations or maintenance. E-470 is a political sub-division of the state governed by the E-470 Public Highway Authority Board composed of eight local governments including Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, and the municipalities of Aurora, Brighton, Commerce City, Parker and Thornton. E-470 also operates ExpressToll, the all-electronic toll collection system available on E-470, Northwest Parkway and Colorado’s Express Lanes.
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Media Contact: Kaylie Showers