The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports that the ramp from northbound Interstate 25 to Crossroads Boulevard will be completely closed from 7 a.m. Monday until 5 p.m. Friday, weather permitting, as part of the ongoing construction at this interchange.

The view looking west on Wednesday afternoon at Harmony and Timberline in Fort Collins.

Fort Collins is in the forefront of using Intelligent Transportation Systems and the internet to get real-time local street conditions into the hands of drivers and others.

FCTrip promises to help you “travel smarter” and by deploying a network of sensors and cameras that calculate congestion levels and speeds, the city has brought to the local street level a part of what the Colorado Department of Transportation, through its COTrip site, delivers for Denver metro area freeways.

It’s a glimpse into what engineers can do to help drivers make decisions that help relieve congestion. Extending real-time systems like this to regional arterial streets instead of just freeways would be a big help to commuters, delivery drivers and other motorists whose daily travels don’t just consist of freeway driving.

The Northern Colorado Business Report says the city of Fort Collins has hired LaFarge North American Inc. for the East Harmony Road Bridge replacement and has set a timeline for the project.

The project will begin on Harmony Road between Interstate 25 and Ziegler Road in February and is expected to be completed in August. Go to the Northern Colorado Business Report to see the entire article.

The Windsor Beacon reports that the Town of Windsor and City of Fort Collins should find out in six months whether they have received a grant to pay for the reconstruction of the aging Interstate 25/Colorado Highway 392 interchange.

The two bodies met at the Council Tree Library in Fort Collins Wednesday night to finalize their plan for the interchange and talk about their upcoming application for a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. The grant application is due Sept. 15. The municipalities expect to hear about the grant’s approval or denial by next February.

Transit managers from Loveland and Fort Collins are planning to ask their respective city councils to investigate creating a regional transit provider, saying they believe they could save money and provide better service by combining forces, according to a story in the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “All we’re looking at in the plan is investigating the feasibility,” Transfort Assistant General Manager Kurt Ravenschlag said. Ravenschlag said Transfort saw 15 percent ridership growth in 2008, and COLT manager Marcy Abreo said the Loveland agency is seeing similar increases. Transfort carried 1.8 million passengers last year; COLT carried 125,000.