Colorado taxpayers came out on top in U.S. 36 public-private partnership, audit finds

A state audit of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s U.S. 36 contract — the state’s controversial first public-private partnership on a big highway construction project — gave the agency mostly positive marks, but also noted room for improvement in communicating about the project.

Shailen Bhatt, CDOT’s executive director who started the job in February, said he was happy with the audit’s findings.

“The report said it [the public-private partnership] was a good deal for taxpayers,”…