DENVER – Southern Colorado Republican lawmakers sent a somewhat snarky letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper about widening Interstate 25 between Castle Rock and Monument saying they were just “checking in to understand your perspective today on your commitment.”

Hickenlooper told The Gazette editorial board when he was running for re-election in the fall of 2014 that the project would be a priority if he was reelected.

For his “convenience,” the lawmakers included a link to a piece by the editorial board on the campaign promise.

“We need to be pouring concrete to widen I-25 as soon as possible,” said Rep. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, who said he frequently gets stuck in the bottleneck traffic there, which that occurs headed both north and south when the interstate decreases to two lanes in each direction.

Hickenlooper said he has not forgotten.

“The highway – one of the most traveled in the state for commuters, residents and tourists – is also one of the most congested and in need of additional capacity,” Hickenlooper wrote in a letter sent Friday to the lawmakers. “This project is of such importance that I called for a third lane in my Inaugural Address last January. On this, we agree entirely.”

He laid out the future of the project, which will begin with a Planning and Environmental Linkages Study.

“This study is a critical milestone towards securing federal approval prior to construction of a third lane,” Hickenlooper said.

Amy Ford, spokeswoman with the Colorado Department of Transportation, said $1.5 million has been set aside for a planning and environmental impacts study and a firm could be hired by the end of the year to execute that. An additional $1.5 million is needed to complete the study which is the first step toward getting the project in line for funding, she said.

Ford said widening that stretch of I-25 is estimated to cost at least $200 million. It is considered a priority corridor and a critical project.

“Our current backlog of critical projects is about $3 billion,” Ford said. “We have a budget of about $1.6 billion a year.”

Hickenlooper used his response as a chance to remind lawmakers that he proposed a bill last session that would have put $200 million into transportation. That bill died without Republican support.

“Unfortunately, the bill was not enacted, and Colorado’s infrastructure problems remain,” Hickenlooper wrote.

House Bill 1389 would have done more than just put money toward transportation. It would have removed millions of dollars in state revenue – collected from hospitals as the Hospital Provider Fee – from the general fund. That transfer would have kept the state from triggering taxpayer refunds required under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and allow millions of dollars to be invested in things like education and roads.

Many opposed the bill as a “work-around” of TABOR and felt the government should ask voters to keep the refunds or live within the budget.

Lundeen said Friday he would respond to the letter next week.

Lundeen previously said when he hears the words priority it means something near the top of the list that someone will actively work to accomplish.

“I’m not seeing any of it,” Lundeen said. “I’ve seen $100 million for bike trails and $150 million for CDOT offices, though.”

Hickenlooper recently announced he would set aside $100 million from federal and state directed program funding to make Colorado “the best state for biking.” And conservative lawmakers last month spoke out against a CDOT plan to spend $150 million on new offices in Denver, Pueblo and Greeley.

Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, told the Denver Post he had “huge concern” over the priorities.

Senators Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs; Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs; and Kevin Grantham, R-Cañon City; and Representatives Terri Carver, R-Colorado Springs; Janak Joshi, R-Colorado Springs; Patrick Neville, R-Franktown; Gordon Klingenschmitt, R-Colorado Springs; and Dan Nordberg. R-Colorado Springs, all signed the letter.

CDOT recently completed a $66.6 million project adding a third lane to I-25 from northern Colorado Springs to Monument.

And two other projects are underway to improve the I-25 interchanges at Fillmore and Cimarron. The first is a $15.1 million and the Cimarron interchange is historically the second-largest CDOT project in the region at $113 million.

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Contact Megan Schrader: 286-0644

Twitter @CapitolSchrader

Drivers cruise along I-25 Thursday, October 8, 2015 near Larkspur. The current two-lane section from Monument to Castle Rock is expected to be expanded. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette

STACIE SCOTT