Gov. John Hickenlooper’s instinct is right; call state lawmakers back for a special session to address Colorado’s looming transportation calamity.

The Colorado Legislature adjourned for the year Wednesday after a productive session of addressing myriad state issues. Remarkably, lawmakers were able to come to agreement on heavy-hitting issues despite a politically polarized Capitol that has Republicans running the Senate with a one-seat majority and Democrats controlling the House with only a slightly heftier lead. For the past few years, the most important issues have gone unsolved because of stubbornness on both sides to move toward true common ground.

The biggest obstacles have been Democrats’ refusal to diminish Colorado’s growing Medicaid program and Republicans’ refusal to release the hospital provider fee money set aside by the state to address the ballooning costs associated with the Medicaid expansion. The argument has held hundreds of millions of state dollars hostage and cheated residents out of desperately needed money for roads, schools, public safety, higher education and other programs.

Read more at The Aurora Sentinel.