How $500M in federal infrastructure money is being spent in Colorado
Colorado projects and programs have so far netted $496 million in federal infrastructure funds, with the bulk going to water resources and scientific innovation, according to data from the U.S. Department of Interior.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in 2021, authorizes spending of $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
About $4 billion in funding has gone to the Mountain West, including the nearly half-a-billion dollars in Colorado, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities.
Nationally, $8 billion has been awarded to 1,458 projects scattered across all the states and five U.S. territories, according to the Interior Department data.
The largest Colorado award was $167 million for a new Energy and Minerals Research Center being built at the Colorado School of Mines. The U.S. Geological Survey will pay for the remaining cost of the $240 million facility.
When the center is completed it will house researchers from the school and the USGS.
In addition, $627,000 in infrastructure funds were allocated to programs aimed at reconnaissance and inventory of critical minerals.
Combined those awards accounted for nearly three-quarters of all the infrastructure law scientific innovation grants in the county, according to Interior Department data.
“This is a unique investment in Colorado in Earth mapping and critical minerals research,” Kate Groetzinger, a Center for Western Priorities spokeswoman, said.