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When flood waters ravaged portions of Colorado in September 2013—killing crops, inundating homes, and buckling many miles of roadways—countless federal, state, and municipal government workers sprang into action helping citizens. State and federal government agencies spent millions in the weeks and months following the natural disaster to help residents of the Rocky Mountain state.

In all, the disaster damaged 200 lane miles of the state’s highway system and damaged 120 bridges. Although the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) expected to have its highway system repaired and recovered by winter, the recovery could have taken much longer had it not been for the foresight of a lean improvement project undertaken before the deluge.

CDOT is the state agency responsible for a 9,146-mile highway system that includes 3,447 bridges. Each year, this system handles more than 27.4 billion vehicle miles of traffic. Although the interstate system accounts for only about 10 percent (914 miles) of the total mileage on the state system, 40 percent of all travel within Colorado takes place on the interstate highways.

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