House Speaker Crisanta Duran is outraged over recent comments by her Republican counterpart suggesting that Democrats have a “plan” to destroy Colorado’s roads.

Calling the comments from House Republican Leader Patrick Neville of Castle Rock “absurd,” Duran, a Democrat from Denver, pointed out that she worked this year for a bipartisan solution to come up with funding to fix the state’s ailing roads and highways.

“Democrats led efforts to bring a sustainable, statewide transportation fix before voters this year to fix our outdated and overburdened transportation system, and to ensure that rural Colorado isn’t left behind, without cutting other key priorities like education,” Duran said in a statement. “And when Republicans killed that bill in the Senate, it was Democrats who then fought to prioritize transportation funding.”

Reported by Colorado political blogger Jason Salzman, Neville claimed that Democrats have a “plan” to intentionally make Colorado’s roads “so terrible and so awful” that voters would approve a tax increase to fix them. Salzman suggested that Neville was alluding to a “secret” plan by Democrats.

“That’s what the Democrats want. And it’s part of a plan. And this is nothing new,” Neville told KNUS guest host George Athanasopoulos, who ran unsuccessfully for chairman of the Colorado Republican Party and in the 7th Congressional District against Democrat Ed Perlmutter.

A bipartisan $3.5 billion transportation funding proposal in the legislature this year never gained enough GOP support to send the issue to voters. The bill would have raised the state sales tax for roads and highways, pending voter approval.

Instead, lawmakers were able to come together on a bond program to direct $1.8 billion towards critical infrastructure, including roads and highways.

“These allegations of a plan to undermine our transportation system are absolutely ridiculous, and it’s a shame that Rep. Neville would rather make excuses for his own party’s inaction on this critical issue than work with us toward viable solutions to our state’s very real needs,” Duran said, “We’ve grown accustomed to seeing this finger pointing from Republicans in Washington who have been unable to govern effectively. But I’d expect more from state leaders like Rep. Neville.”

In response to Salzman’s report, Neville Tweeted on Tuesday, “Get your story right. It isn’t a ‘secret plan’ it is a deliberate plan that is out in the open.”