• Frequently Asked Questions
• Articles of Incorporation
• A Map of the Front Range Toll Road
  • CDOT's prospective toll road map...with an actual FRTR route mapped out?

In the 19th century, a combination of laws were passed in order to facilitate the building of the Pikes Peak Toll Road and to allow miners to move their ore to market without being robbed by private toll road rates, the so-called Toll Road Law grants the right of eminent domain to any corporation who has the intent to build a toll road, and counties get to set the rates.

In 1986, Ray Wells started the Front Range Toll Road Company (FRTRC) and laid claim to a 12-mile-wide corridor stretching 210 miles from just south of Pueblo to just north of Fort Collins.  This 2,520 square mile area is currently home to 100,000 people.  The FRTRC wants a 660-foot-wide right-of-way of way inside of this corridor (the exact location is unknown) to build a toll road, railroad, and utility corridor, including "service pods." (See Land Analysis.)

According to the Articles of Incorporation for The Front Range Toll Road Company the Board of Directors are B.H. Smartt, William W. Poleson, John R. Sheaffer, Ray S. Wells and Thomas T. Grimshaw.  Ray S. Wells has been, by far, the most vocal and visible of these five individuals.

The law allows the FRTRC to take this 660-foot-wide right-of-way anywhere inside of the corridor and the FRTRC will have the Right of Condemnation (a.k.a. Eminent Domain) to force an unwilling seller off their property.  An additional one mile on either side of the 660-foot-wide corridor will be purchased (without the right of Condemnation) to make it a no-development zone.

Additional notes about the Toll Road Law:

• There is no time limit, which is why this has been around for 19 years already
• The FRTRC does not actually have to build a toll road after acquiring the land
• The FRTRC does not have to record their "rights" to this land; as such, no one inside of this 12-mile corridor has had any of this appear on their title searches when they bought their land.

HB 05-1030 was introduced into the Colorado House of Representatives in 2005 in order to "clean up" the Toll Road Law.  HB 05-1030 would have, among other things...

• ...given the FRTRC the right to sell off acquired land as an asset
• ...given the Tolling Authority the right to set tolls rather than the counties crossed being allowed to set tolls to get compensation from the road for services.
• ...repealed statutes that regulated and set standards for toll roads.
• ...repealed existing statutes requiring private toll road operators to maintain roads in good condition and provide penalties when they fail to meet this obligation.
• ...allowed construction to proceed without any prior requirements that the company compensate local government for the costs of providing emergency services in the event of accidents or hazardous materials spills along the highway.
• ...allowed construction to proceed before there has been any assessment of community and environmental impact and without the involvement of local governments in placement decisions.

Ray Wells has said on alternating occasions that (a) he can't get financing without HB 05-1030 and (b) he can proceed without it.  So, no one really knows what to believe.  Then again, the following contradictory statements have also been made by Mr. Wells.

HB 05-1030 sailed through the Colorado House of Representatives, backed by Jim Sullivan (R-Douglas) and passed 62-3.  The three votes against the bill were from Denver and Boulder counties, counties completely unaffected by the toll road.  Numerous house members later said that they voted for the bill without reading it, without really knowing what it said, and without considering the ramifications.  Mr. Wells also showed them a map of the corridor that did not include many of the communities that currently exist along the road.  Many house members said that they felt mislead.

At this point, the news media began reporting on the bill and the Front Range Toll Road and actions committees began forming all along the proposed corridor.

On 22 March 2005, the Senate Transportation Committee was scheduled to hear the bill, presented by Senate co-sponsor Suzanne Williams (D-Arapahoe).

Between 500 and 1,000 people showed up at the capitol to testify to the committee.  After many hours of testimony, the Committee voted 6 to 1 to "postpone indefinitely" the bill and ask a joint committee to look into the Toll Road Law and its flaws.

The Front Range Toll Road Official Website

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