Colorado to Add 971 Miles to Electric Vehicle Charging Corridor

The state will receive $57 million to build electric vehicles and six stretches of new road, which will increase the state’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure corridor by 44 percent.

July 20, 2022 •

Scott Weiser, The Gazette

(TNS) — Colorado is set to receive $57 million to build electric vehicle chargers to include an additional 971 miles of state highway after the Federal Highway Administration approved six stretches of road the state wanted to add to the national network of highways meant to extend EV travel options.

Colorado's National Electric Vehicle infrastructure corridor includes 2,193 road miles already approved for the charger network, and the new segments comprise a 44 percent increase to 3,164 miles.

Under the program, the Colorado Department of Transportation does not own or operate any chargers itself. Rather, the program awards grants to private, public, and nonprofit entities that want to build, own, maintain and operate chargers.

The program pays up to 80 percent of eligible costs for charging infrastructure.

" Colorado is poised to build one of the most robust EV charging networks in the country," said Kay Kelly, chief of innovative mobility for the Colorado Department of Transportation. "These newly designated corridors mean that we have significantly more road miles eligible for federal funding to help build chargers and bring EVs and cleaner air to all Coloradans."

Established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure ( NEVI) formula program funding will provide $5 billion over five years for states to deploy DC fast electric vehicle chargers along highway corridors.

The funds can only be used within one mile of federally approved designated corridors and there must be less than a 50-mile gap between chargers.

CDOT and its agency partners have a goal of 940,000 light-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), 1,000 transit ZEVs and 35,000 medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs operating in the state by 2030.

The newly designated corridors include I-270, U.S. 34, U.S. 36, U.S. 287, U.S. 385 and U.S. 550.

Existing corridors include I-25, I-70, I-76, U.S. 40, U.S. 50, U.S. 160 and U.S. 285.

(c)2022 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.