Skip to main content

Western US governors collaborate on EV corridor

The Governors of Colorado, Utah and Nevada are to work together over the next year to develop complementary plans for building an electric vehicle charging network across key highway corridors in their states. The corridors will include Interstates 70, 76 and 25 across Colorado; Interstates 70, 80 and 15 across Utah; and Interstates 80 and 15 across Nevada. In total, the charging network will connect more than 2,000 miles of highway. This regional electric charging station network aims to address rang
December 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Governors of Colorado, Utah and Nevada are to work together over the next year to develop complementary plans for building an electric vehicle charging network across key highway corridors in their states.

The corridors will include Interstates 70, 76 and 25 across Colorado; Interstates 70, 80 and 15 across Utah; and Interstates 80 and 15 across Nevada. In total, the charging network will connect more than 2,000 miles of highway.

This regional electric charging station network aims to address range anxiety, the concern that recharging may not be available for long-distance travel or trips outside of major cities. The electrification of major regional corridors is expected to facilitate the vehicle market transformation and allow smaller communities to connect to the regional system.

All three states have electric vehicle market potential. Colorado offers a US$5,000 tax credit on electric vehicle purchases and has nearly 8,000 electric vehicles on the road in Colorado today, compared to less than 100 in 2011. It has also already begun building charging stations through the Charge Ahead Colorado program.

Utah currently ranks seventh in the US for electric vehicle adoption and recently unveiled its Mighty Five Corridor initiative, while Nevada is ranked 13th in the nation for electric vehicles, with 2,104 electric vehicles and 31,937 hybrid vehicles registered in the state. It has a goal to complete an electric highway system serving the entire state by 2020.

Related Content

  • August 24, 2016
    When weather warnings get hyperlocal
    David Crawford looks at new technologies to cope with the age-old problem of driving in bad weather. On the 10-year average, between 2005 and 2014 bad weather contributed to more than 1.5 million vehicle crashes in the US each year, resulting in more than 800,000 injuries and 7,400 deaths. These were the findings of analysis by Booz Allen Hamilton of NHTSA data which concluded that the loss of life, hospital treatment and damage to assets costs an annual average of $42bn.
  • February 10, 2021
    South Nevada expands freeway safety tech 
    $6m USDoT grant means US95 will get wrong-way sensors and sensors for HOV lanes 
  • July 15, 2025
    GHSA: Pedestrian deaths fall for second straight year in US
    But alarming trends continue for hit-and-run crashes, especially at night
  • February 21, 2014
    Caltrans to focus on traffic management in 2014
    Although San Diego County may see a downturn new freeway infrastructure projects during 2014, many projects, from rail to highways and cycle paths, are still in the pipeline for 2014, according to the region's transportation planning agencies. Laurie Berman, district director for the regional office of the California Department of Transportation, said last week that Caltrans' focus is transitioning from general purpose lane expansions to more traffic management. The new direction is meant to provide trav