The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) along with local governments in the US have started the construction of $312m multi-modal project along Route 36 to improve travel time and reduce traffic delays.
The US 36 project will widen ten miles of the route, starting from the Federal Boulevard to the 88th Street in Louisville / Superior, to have a high-occupancy vehicle / tolled express lane on each side of the road.
The new widened corridor will replace several bridges, and include a bus rapid transit (BRT), carpool, bike lane and other improvements to provide commuters with options when it comes to choosing a mode of transit.
CDOT executive director Don Hunt said that he is excited about the future of the 36 corridor and what the improvements will mean for those who live and work along the highway, as well as for the occasional travellers.
"More transportation options mean less time sitting in traffic," Hunt added.
The $312m project was funded by $120m from RTD, a $54m loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance And Innovation Act, $46m from Colorado Bridge Enterprise, where as Denver Regional Council of Governments provided $44m, CDOT federal and state funds gave $38m and TIGER grant was $10m.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said the project leveraged federal, state and RTD funds, as well strong partnerships to make it a reality and is a model for future transportation projects as it's an example of how governments at all levels should collaborate for the good of the public.
"When this project is complete, we will have an improved transportation system that will benefit this economically-diverse corridor as well as the thousands of motorists who utilise US 36 on a regular basis," Hickenlooper added.
The highway will also have intelligent transportation systems to provide traffic updates and travelling information for tolling purpose.
The department will also install incident management systems to alert travellers about lane closures.
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