Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday criticized the sponsor of a plan to toll Interstate 70 for failing to consult first with people who could be hurt by it.

Ritter said SB 213, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, would affect truckers and residents of the I-70 mountain corridor.

McElhany's bill would charge drivers a toll of up to $5 each way near the Eisenhower Tunnel to pay for highway improvements from there to Floyd Hill.

Responding to Ritter, McElhany said he only proposed the bill because the governor has failed to do anything to fix Colorado's transportation woes.

McElhany said he has spoken with plenty of business leaders supportive of a toll. And he said mountain residents opposed to his plan have had their positions well-represented by Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, and Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, who are against his bill.

The Democratic governor offered his criticism during his monthly interview with KOA's talk radio host Mike Rosen. His comments came in response to a caller from the Western Slope who said that his businesses depend on truckers, who can't eat the cost of such a toll.

"Sen. McElhany drops a bill that says we're going to toll Interstate 70," Ritter said. "The problem is, Sen. McElhany didn't go to the people who are impacted by this."

Ritter said McElhany should have at least consulted with a group called the I-70 Coalition, which has been working for years on a solution for untangling the highway.

"Not doing any due diligence with that group was a mistake on Sen. McElhany's part," Ritter said.

McElhany's bill was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee last month and heads next to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"The main reason this bill was brought forward is because we've not heard one whit of an idea from the governor," McElhany said.

"This was out of a desperate attempt to at least start some discussion of transportation issues and put something concrete on the table that will get something done in this vacuum of leadership from the first floor," a reference to the governor's office.

Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer countered that Ritter convened a blue-ribbon transportation panel that presented its findings to the legislature this session "with a challenge to continue the discussion."

He said McElhany is doing that, but the administration sees major problems with his bill, which was never run by the governor.

"That said, if there is common ground to be reached Gov. Ritter obviously wants to get there," Dreyer said.

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059