Super Slab toll road reborn

Kevin Flynn, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 28, 2006 at midnight

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Don’t call it Super Slab anymore. The controversial 210-mile private toll road through eastern Colorado has a new name - Prairie Falcon Parkway Express - and a big new push to get it built.

Ray Wells, developer of the proposed $2.5 billion super highway, railroad bypass and utility corridor, dropped about 4,000 certified letters in the mail this morning to property owners within the three-mile-wide boundaries of the project, which he has been nurturing for 20 years. They are legal notices outlining their rights and how they can get involved.

The corridor stretches from north of Fort Collins to south of Pueblo, ranging up to 30 miles east of Interstate 25, the congested Front Range freeway the toll road seeks to relieve.

Wells originally called the project Front Range Toll Road, though it picked up the nickname Super Slab. However, the new name, the hiring of a Halliburton subsidiary and the formation of a series of corporations to pursue it represent a resurgence in a project that some opponents thought they had killed.

Ranchers, homeowners, farmers and other landowners across seven counties, inflamed by the prospect of losing their property to condemnation, got tough new legislation passed in the spring to try to derail Wells' toll road.

But far from killing it, the bill provides Wells with a long and expensive, but nevertheless clearly spelled out process to follow. The legal notices are among the first steps. Wells already has filed maps with the county clerks in each of the seven counties, showing the parcels affected by the project. Although he lost the ability to condemn property, Wells can partner with the state, which has the power of eminent domain.

Wells’ filings show that the general partner in the project is a new corporation called Spirit of Cheyenne. Other than identifying attorney William Waller as its agent, no details have been disclosed about the financial backers.

"We’re still formulating an investor group," said Jason Hopfer, Wells’ spokesman. "At this point, I’m not able to disclose who is involved in Spirit of Cheyenne because that’s one of the vehicles for the investor group, and investors come and go. It’s a work in progress."

The exact route of the highway remains to be determined but would fall somewhere within the three-mile width. However, Wells wouldn't need the entire three miles. The highway, railroad and utility path would take up to about 1,200 feet, meandering anywhere within the three miles where Wells can most easily build it.

At the same time today, Wells put up a new Web site with maps and information about public involvement. Wells also is sponsoring a toll-free call center at 1-800-977-8393. The company is using a post office box in Watkins, near the center of the project, as its mailing address.

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