The Colorado Tolling and Infrastructure Organization on Tuesday approved an amended and restated memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Federal Highway Administration and the Colorado Department of Transportation governing I‑70 peak-period shoulder lane operations, voting unanimously on resolution 4 73.

Piper Darlington, CTIO director, summarized a multi-stakeholder process that produced expanded fixed hours and days and a new allotment of flexible hours and days for the shoulder operations. She told the board the Federal Highway Administration and CDOT have signed off on the redlined changes and that Clear Creek County had approved a related operating permit. Darlington thanked Clear Creek County staff—naming Amy Saxton—for assistance in obtaining the permit.

The MOU, Darlington said, is attached to CTIO’s operating permit for the October operating period; staff had briefed the board in January and circulated a redlined version following stakeholder review. Darlington also acknowledged extensive legal coordination and thanked CTIO’s counsel, saying, “I did wanna publicly thank Carla Martin, our attorney general, for all of her work on getting us to the point where we are with the IGA.”

Director Cook queried the board about a compliance clause in the MOU that states if operational limitations are not met, the division (interpreted in discussion as FHWA) may revoke design variances and require federal funds to be repaid. Cook asked which federal funds would be subject to repayment; Darlington said staff believed the clause referred to federal funds that supported construction of the shoulders but did not have an itemized list at the meeting.

Board action: A motion to approve resolution 4 73 was made and seconded; the board recorded no opposition and the resolution passed unanimously.

Why this matters: The amended MOU governs when shoulders may be used as travel lanes on I‑70 and sets operational and funding conditions tied to federal approvals and the Clear Creek County permit. The agreement is intended to make shoulder use more responsive to traffic and to formalize flexible operating hours negotiated through stakeholder outreach.

Implementation notes: Staff said FHWA and CDOT sign-off and the Clear Creek County operating permit were prerequisites to bringing the amended MOU for board action. The board did not instruct staff to change the MOU text during the meeting.