Pelosi Stumps for Stimulus in Broomfield BROOMFIELD, CO (KUNC) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in Broomfield Monday touting federal stimulus funding that will help revamp the traffic clogged US 36 corridor.

Speaker Pelosi appeared alongside Congressman Jared Polis (D-Boulder) and mayors from area towns and state transportation officials. The US 36 Coalition just received a $10 million federal grant through the stimulus. It's expected to help fund bus-rapid-transit and a bike lane on stretches of the highway between Boulder and Denver. Speaker Pelosi said the public-private venture is exactly the kind of project that the stimulus bill was geared for.

"What I see here is remarkable because of 37 jurisdictions involved, this being a priority for the Department of Transportation," Pelosi said. "It's very special."

But the project's overall price tag is estimated above $500 million, and the $10 million stimulus grant is a mere drop in the bucket.

Still, local officials and business leaders gathered for the event insisted they can come up with the rest of the money, pledging that the project would break ground as early as this summer.

Kelly Shea is an executive with White Wave Foods, a natural foods supplier headquartered along the Boulder turnpike. She said the project will help spur economic development, because the area's quality of life will improve.

"So I think it's fair to say that commuting is part of all of our lives every day," Shea said. "And in its current state, Highway 36 really is congested and inefficient."

Republicans, meanwhile were quick to criticize the event and the House Speaker's visit. Congressman Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) said the stimulus bill's job promises haven't materialized.

More than $6 billion federal dollars poured into Colorado through the bill. State highway officials have estimated that some 9,000 jobs have been saved or created as a result.
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