Starting January 12, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin issuing $75 civil penalties to drivers who exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour in the CO 119 Safety, Mobility & Bikeway Project work zone in Boulder County. This step is part of CDOT’s Colorado Speed Enforcement Program and follows a 30-day warning period that began in July 2025.
During the warning phase, CDOT issued over 34,000 notices to first-time violators on CO 119. These warnings did not include monetary penalties but were intended to inform drivers about the new enforcement measures. Once civil penalties take effect, violations detected by automated cameras will result in mailed notices to vehicle owners, who are responsible for paying or disputing the penalty within 45 days at coloradospeedenforcement.com. If no action is taken, further legal steps may follow.
CDOT Chief Engineer Keith Stefanik said, “Average speeds starkly decreasing on CO 119 means the Colorado Speed Enforcement Program is already doing its job to increase safety in the corridor. Civil penalties are meant to curb the behavior of speeding drivers, not punish them. By moderating speed, we can save lives — plain and simple.”
Preliminary data indicates that since the program started on CO 119 between Boulder and Longmont, high speeds have dropped by more than 80% within the work zone. Average speeds along this section now range from 53 to 56 MPH. In its first month, average speeds fell by an average of eight miles per hour.
Statewide statistics show that work zone crashes caused 532 injuries in Colorado during 2025—a decrease of nearly 12% compared to last year’s total of 602 injuries. Work zone fatalities have also declined sharply; there have been eight such deaths so far in 2025 compared with thirty in all of last year—a reduction of about 73%. Since 2015, there have been a total of 129 work zone-related crash fatalities across Colorado.
Automated enforcement programs like this one have shown positive results nationally as well. According to research from the Federal Highway Administration, point-to-point speed cameras can reduce roadway injuries and fatalities by between twenty and thirty-seven percent.
Stopping distance increases rapidly with higher speeds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that stopping distance quadruples when speed doubles; at sixty miles per hour it takes about three hundred forty-five feet to stop—over a third longer than at fifty miles per hour according to figures from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Enforcement locations are chosen based on crash data and where traditional law enforcement may be less viable. CDOT selected CO 119 for this program due to ongoing construction for safety improvements as part of its Safety, Mobility & Bikeway project. This project began construction in September 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2027.
