Colorado Voids 15,870 I-25 Work Zone Camera Tickets Worth $1.1 Million

• CDOT is voiding 15,870 photo speed tickets from the I-25/US 50B work zone in Pueblo, a total above $1.1 million, 9NEWS reported.
• Tickets issued from Aug. 1 to Oct. 9 are $75 each: 7,691 are dismissed and 8,179 drivers who already paid are waiting on refunds.
• Check your notice at coloradospeedenforcement.com or on 844-450-0440 before you pay or dispute, and know that CDOT’s other Colorado camera sites are not part of this cleanup.

One Wrong Date on a CDOT Form Undid 15,870 Tickets

The Colorado Department of Transportation has admitted a paperwork mistake and is wiping out nearly 16,000 speed camera tickets from the Interstate 25 construction zone in Pueblo. Each citation was $75. CDOT counts 15,870 violations issued between Aug. 1 and Oct. 9, and the combined bill runs past $1.1 million: 15,870 tickets at $75 each comes to $1,190,250.

The money splits two ways. For 7,691 tickets, CDOT has already issued dismissals, so those drivers owe nothing. For the other 8,179, the money has been paid, and CDOT says the refunds are pending. That is $613,425 owed back to drivers at $75 apiece, and $576,825 in tickets that will never be collected.

The fault sits inside the agency. The zone is the I-25/US 50B Interchange Reconstruction project, where a temporary lower speed limit applies, and the dates for that limit were entered wrongly. “An incorrect start and end date was recorded on internal CDOT approval documents for the temporary lower speed limit that did not match what was approved by the Colorado Speed Enforcement Program,” a CDOT spokeswoman wrote in a statement. The statement went on: “The error was caught and corrected by issuing refunds and dismissals.”

CDOT also checked the two other places where it runs these cameras, I-25 near Berthoud and Highway 119 in Boulder County. Both carry the right start dates, so tickets from those sites are not part of this cleanup.

Who Gets Money Back, and What To Do Now

Start with the date on your notice. The numbers CDOT released cover violations from Aug. 1 to Oct. 9. CDOT’s own program news says $75 fines at the Pueblo zone began July 30, and the figures released so far do not say how a ticket dated outside the Aug. 1 to Oct. 9 window is treated. If yours falls on either side of those dates, ask CDOT before you pay anything.

If you paid a Pueblo work zone ticket in that window, a refund is on its way. The reporting describes no claim form and gives no payout date. If nothing arrives, CDOT’s FAQ gives two ways to look up a notice: search the notice number and your vehicle registration at coloradospeedenforcement.com, or call customer service at 844-450-0440.

If you hold an unpaid Pueblo notice from that window, look it up before you send a dollar. CDOT says dismissals have gone out for 7,691 citations. Keep the paper notice, and call 844-450-0440 if you cannot confirm yours is among them.

Rental cars add a wrinkle. The registered owner is liable for these tickets, and CDOT’s FAQ says a rental agreement can let the agency bill the renter for the penalty and fees. CDOT says it cannot assist with questions about a rental agency’s billing. A renter charged for a Pueblo ticket from the window should take the question to the agency, with the notice number in hand.

The agency’s statement defended the program and apologized. “The purpose of the Colorado Speed Enforcement program is to save lives by slowing drivers down in work zones, where crashes put both workers and the traveling public at risk,” the statement said. “It is not a revenue-generating tool, and we take seriously our responsibility to run it correctly and fairly.” It closed: “We apologize for the error and appreciate the public’s patience as we make this right,” the statement said.

How the Pueblo Cameras Work Out Your Speed

Colorado runs average speed enforcement under Section 42-4-110.5 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Cameras sit at least a quarter mile to a half mile apart. Each one records an image and a timestamp, with the license plate, as a vehicle passes. The system divides the distance between two cameras by the travel time to get an average speed.

A quick example shows the math. A car that covers a half mile between two cameras in 30 seconds has averaged 60 mph. In a 50 mph zone, the posted limit in the Pueblo work zone at its July launch, that is 10 mph over, and 10 mph over is the line for the $75 penalty. Braking just before a camera does not erase a fast stretch before it. Other states run work zone camera programs too, as in Connecticut’s work zone speed cameras.

The Pueblo layout at its July launch used six fixed cameras between mile points 99.3 and 100.8 on I-25, a corridor 1.5 miles long, plus a trailer-mounted camera for northbound traffic. Drivers get warning notices first. The Pueblo warning period started June 30, and $75 fines started July 30.

The rest of the rules are worth knowing before you drive any Colorado camera zone:

The penalty is $75 for driving 10 mph or more over the limit in a work or school zone, and $40 in a designated corridor. It is a civil penalty, so no points land on your license.

The registered owner pays even when someone else was at the wheel. CDOT’s FAQ says an owner can collect the payment from the person who leased or rented the car, and can file a dispute if the car was stolen or recently sold.

Cameras run around the clock. CDOT says a work zone camera keeps watching when no crew is on site, and that a penalty can follow even when you see nobody working. Signs go up at least 300 feet before the zone and 300 feet before an active camera.

The speedometer is your responsibility. CDOT lists a needle that sticks, a needle that jumps, a check engine light, and tires larger or smaller than the factory size as reasons a reading can be off.

Colorado law also requires 30 days of public notice before a camera goes live, followed by at least 30 days of warnings with no fines. Washington runs a similar warning-first system, and its work zone cameras began issuing $125 fines after tens of thousands of free warnings.

Your Deadlines After Any Colorado Camera Notice

Whether the notice comes from Pueblo or another CDOT zone, the clock starts when the camera records you. CDOT mails a notice within 30 days if the vehicle is registered in Colorado, and within 60 days if it is registered in another state. From the date of the notice, you have 45 days to pay or dispute.

Miss that and the registered owner gets a civil penalty assessment, which must be paid within 30 days. After that comes a final order of liability.

A hearing has a narrow job. The hearing officer decides whether a violation of the statute and the program’s rules took place, whether you are the registered owner, and whether a recognized legal defense is proven. The officer cannot negotiate, waive or reduce the penalty, extend the payment period or approve a payment plan. A driver who disagrees with the result has 35 days from the date the final order takes effect to appeal, and the appeal goes to the county court covering the place of the violation.

Confirm a notice is real before you pay it. CDOT says it never sends violation notices by text or email. Notices come by mail to the registered owner, and mailed cash or checks are not accepted. Payment options on the notice are online, by phone, in person or by QR code, and the notice number can be checked at coloradospeedenforcement.com.

Out-of-state drivers get the longer mailing window. A notice for a vehicle registered outside Colorado can arrive up to 60 days after the violation, so a trip through Pueblo can produce a letter at home weeks later.

Why It Pays To Read Every Camera Notice

Pueblo is not the first Colorado photo ticket reversal this year, and photo enforcement is contested elsewhere too, as the Arizona photo radar ban and Tempe tickets show. Earlier in 2026 Kersey wiped out $1.1 million of photo radar tickets after those fines climbed past what state law permitted. Hudson followed a few months later with $1.2 million in canceled tickets. In Pueblo, CDOT puts the fault on internal approval paperwork.

That is a reason to check three things on any notice: the date, the location and the speed limit it cites. If any of them looks wrong, dispute it inside the 45 days. A hearing cannot lower the penalty, but its purpose is to decide whether a violation took place.

CDOT defends the program on its safety record. Its FAQ cites preliminary data showing nine work zone deaths in Colorado in 2025, down from 30 in 2024, a 70 percent decrease, and 554 work zone injuries in 2025 against 602 in 2024. CDOT’s program page adds Federal Highway Administration figures: automated speed enforcement can cut crash risk on a major road by 54 percent, injury crashes by 47 percent and fatal crashes by 37 percent. CDOT’s figures put the drop in excessive speeding at 81 percent along Highway 119 from Boulder to Longmont and 92 percent in the I-25 work zone between Mead and Berthoud.

CDOT says program revenue pays for running the cameras first. Whatever is left goes to the Vulnerable Road User Protection Fund, which pays for safety work for pedestrians and cyclists.

Your next step is simple. Pull the notice, read the date, and look it up at coloradospeedenforcement.com. If it falls in the Aug. 1 to Oct. 9 window at the Pueblo I-25 work zone, expect it to be dismissed or refunded. If it comes from another site, treat the 45-day clock as live.

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Sources

• Colorado Department of Transportation: Colorado Speed Enforcement Program Frequently Asked Questions
• Colorado Department of Transportation: Colorado Speed Enforcement Program
• 9NEWS via Yahoo: Administrative error voids $1.1 million in photo tickets in I-25 construction zone
• Pueblo Star Journal: A Picture in the Mail

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar