The Pikes Peak Badger

PPRTA proposes $88.7 million for capital projects in 2027 budget

The proposal directs 55% of projected net revenue to capital; estimated carryover makes up most of its $460.4 million in proposed appropriations.

El Paso County
A GIS map marks approximate limits for the South Academy Boulevard Improvement Project in El Paso County. The map appears in the packet’s award-process section; the article does not identify this project among the proposed budget allocations.
A GIS map marks approximate limits for the South Academy Boulevard Improvement Project in El Paso County. The map appears in the packet’s award-process section; the article does not identify this project among the proposed budget allocations.

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The Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority’s proposed 2027 budget would allocate $88.7 million to capital projects, 55% of its projected $161.279 million in net revenue. It also assigns $56.448 million (35%) to maintenance and $16.128 million (10%) to transit, the draft budget says.

The budget lists $460.413 million in proposed appropriations, including $165.063 million in proposed 2027 appropriations and $295.349 million in estimated beginning balances, or carryover. The carryover is divided among capital ($234.568 million), maintenance ($28.729 million) and transit ($32.052 million). PPRTA says an independent external audit will verify the actual carryover.

The capital allocation is divided among PPRTA member governments for transportation projects. Among the largest proposed allocations are $13.4 million for Colorado Springs’ Nevada Avenue reconstruction from Commerce Street to the Templeton Gap Floodway, $10.35 million for Powers Boulevard between State Highway 83 and Voyager Parkway, and $5.48 million for El Paso County’s Eastonville Road work from McLaughlin Road to Bandanero Drive. Those are proposed budget allocations, not the projects’ full costs.

The maintenance allocation would be distributed among member governments according to their 2020 Census population shares. The budget describes eligible work including pavement overlays and repairs, striping, sidewalks and accessibility ramps, and bridge, signal and drainage maintenance.

The 10% transit allocation is not the entire transit budget. The draft projects another $2.933 million in transit fare and other revenue, for total projected transit revenue of $19.061 million. Mountain Metropolitan Transit’s budget includes fixed-route service and Americans with Disabilities Act complementary paratransit.

The board is scheduled to discuss the draft at a Nov. 13 workshop and hold a public hearing and consider the budget Dec. 9.