Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet and Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis congratulated the Colorado Department of Transportation on its award of a $15 million competitive grant under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program to improve a six-mile stretch of Interstate 25 between U.S. Highway 36 and 120th Avenue in Adams County.
“Interstate 25 is one of the most important drivers of trade, tourism and transportation for Colorado,” Udall said. “These grant funds will create jobs and ensure that Interstate 25 remains a modern, functional artery. This project is a great example of innovative thinking on transportation and doing more with less.”
“Coloradans who live in and travel through the north metro corridor know that we must find a workable solution to the highway congestion along I-25,” Bennet said. “This grant will help CDOT begin the long-awaited work on new HOV lanes that will help ease congestion along one of the most heavily traveled sections of the highway. The current fiscal reality requires states to do more with less, and this project will allow drivers to maximize the use of existing roadway to ease the flow of traffic.”
“Today’s grant announcement from DOT reinforces that in tight economic times efficient and effective public investment remains essential to development,” DeGette said. “This grant will maximize our existing infrastructure to improve the quality of life for Colorado families, while at the same time creating jobs for our citizens.”
“The award of this grant is welcome news for anyone who has ever been stuck in traffic traveling between Denver and Fort Collins,” Polis said. “The improvements to I-25 are cost-effective, efficient, and will provide much needed relief from traffic jams along one of Colorado’s busiest highways.”
The funds will be used widen and improve the existing freeway as well as to create a managed lanes which allow buses and other high occupancy vehicles to travel with less traffic congestion. The managed lane will be built by narrowing the inside shoulder of the existing highway and will not require the acquisition of any new land or right-of-way. Planners say the managed lanes, which would include use by public transit buses and certain cars, could shave significant time off commuting times.
The Colorado congressional delegation sent a letter in March asking the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide the state with these grant funds.