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Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

Has the condition of Colorado’s roads worsened under TABOR?

Tyler Hickman, The Colorado Sun
yes

The percentage of state roads in Colorado rated “poor” by the Federal Highway Administration has risen from 8% to 24% since the agency began collecting data in 1994, two years after the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights became law. 

The agency considers a road to be in poor condition if it has more than 14 feet, 2 inches, of roughness — like potholes — per mile. Only 34% of Colorado’s roads are in good condition, compared with the national average of 45%.

The American Society of Civil Engineers found Colorado drivers spend an extra $831 annually on car maintenance due to rough roads.

TABOR is a voter-approved constitutional amendment that limits how much tax revenue Colorado can collect and spend. Colorado’s gas tax, which funds much of the state’s $1.55 billion transportation budget — 48% of which goes to pavement maintenance annually — hasn’t changed since 1991 partly due to TABOR restrictions.

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The Colorado Sun is a journalist-founded, award-winning and nonprofit news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself. In this way, we believe we can contribute to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado. We are committed to fact-based, in-depth and nonpartisan journalism. We cover everything from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education. Our goal is to produce the best possible journalism. We do that with the help of you, our readers, and community backers. We launched on Sept. 10, 2018.

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