The speed limit on South Santa Fe Drive’s expressway segment has long been under-posted at 45 mph. Most of the time outside rush hours, that seemed to be the slowest any driver went. Including the police. But now, the Colorado Department of Transportation is expected to raise the limit to 55 mph, reflecting what the traffic already is safely doing. The change would be in the 4½-mile segment between Iowa and Belleview avenues, passing through Denver, Englewood and Sheridan.

More than $390 million in road construction projects on state highways will be underway this year in the metro Denver area, with more than a third of the total funded by the federal stimulus program.

CDOT Media Release

CDOT to Study Effects of Speed Limit Reduction on US 36

March 29, 2010 – Northeastern Colorado/CDOT Region 4 – BOULDER COUNTY- Today, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) installed new speed limit signs reducing the speed limit from 65 MPH to 60 MPH along approximately 1.5 miles of eastbound and westbound US 36 between approximately Baseline Road and Foothills Parkway.

CDOT is reducing the speed limit for a three-year period to study the effects of the speed limit reduction on driver behavior and accidents.

This stretch of US 36 currently carries 72,100 vehicles a day and has experienced a significant increase in traffic volumes over the last couple of years. In addition, there has been a nine percent increase in median barrier collisions over a ten-year period.

“Crash rates on this portion of US 36 are not any different than other portions of US 36 or even similar types of highways, but we have seen an increase in median barrier collisions, which could be speed-related,” said CDOT Traffic Engineer Ina Zisman. “By lowering the speed limit for a three-year period, we can study the stretch and determine if speed is a factor and if the new speed limit has helped reduce median barrier collisions.”

The decision to lower the speed limit followed two speed studies in 2009 conducted by CDOT and the City of Boulder. Both studies indicated an increase in median barrier collisions and as a result, both agencies decided to temporarily decrease the speed limit to study the impacts. The Boulder Police Department will be enforcing the new speed limit along this 1.5-mile stretch of US 36.

Once the three-year study period is complete, CDOT will analyze traffic and accident data to determine if the speed limit will remain at 60 MPH or if a change is needed.

The Boulder Daily Camera reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday during a visit to Broomfield that the recent stimulus grant to extend U.S. 36’s bus, car pool and managed lanes will give that project “a running start” and bring jobs to the area. Pelosi was in Broomfield to tout the anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project to widen U.S. 36 will receive $10 million from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program. The project was one of 51 winners selected from more than 1,400 applicants. The grant was announced Feb. 17.

Crews for the Regional Transportation District are scheduled to close one lane in each direction of U.S. 36 between Church Ranch Boulevard and Wadsworth Parkway from 6 a.m. through 9 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 27, to pour the curbs on the deck of the pedestrian bridge.

The Regional Transportation District has put together a $122.6 million wish list of projects that are ready to go in the event Congress approves a second stimulus program for transportation infrastructure. Half of that total consists of four FasTracks pieces totaling $60.5 million.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is giving a $10 million grant to extend U.S. 36 bus-car pool lanes and adding toll-paying solo drivers – far short of the $200 million the state sought but allowing work to proceed incrementally.

Adam Prince’s blog, Sure Why Not, notes that there will be a lot of unhappy people in many states next month when the U.S. Department of Transportation announces winners of TIGER transportation infrastructure discretionary grants, a part of President Obama’s stimulus program.

In a chart accompanying Prince’s blog, Colorado is shown as having submitted 30 grant requests totaling just over $1.1 billion. They include a request for up to $200 million to begin the first phase of bus-car pool-toll lanes on U.S. 36, and a $62.5 million request for safety and improvement work on CO 119 near Black Hawk.

TIGER stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery.

RTD FasTracks Press Release

TRAFFIC ALERT

Westbound U.S. 36 will close overnight tonight, Jan. 28, for pedestrian bridge work

Denver, January 28, 2010 – Crews for the Regional Transportation District (RTD) are scheduled to close all westbound lanes of U.S. 36 between Church Ranch and S.H. 121 from 11 p.m. tonight, Jan. 28, through 5:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29.

Closure:

Thursday, Jan. 28 to Friday, Jan. 29

* Starting at 9 p.m., one lane of westbound U.S. 36 will be closed to allow crews to mobilize. At 11 p.m., both westbound lanes will close. All eastbound lanes will remain open during this construction.
* Westbound traffic will be detoured from Church Ranch Boulevard over to Wadsworth Parkway and back to U.S. 36.
* All construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change.

The closure is required to adjust the bearing devices on one of the piers of the pedestrian bridge near Odeum Colorado (formerly the Broomfield Events Center). The final segment of the pedestrian bridge was set on Monday, Jan. 25, as part of the U.S. 36 Phase I Transit Improvements. The other two segments of the pedestrian bridge were placed in mid-December during an overnight closure of eastbound U.S. 36.

U.S. 36 BRT service is proposed to run along the18-mile corridor between Downtown Denver and Boulder. It will serve Denver, Westminster, Broomfield, Superior, Louisville and Boulder.

For more information on the project, visit www.RTD-FasTracks.com.

RTD Press Release

Crews for the Regional Transportation District are scheduled to close all westbound lanes of U.S. 36 between Church Ranch and CO 121 from 10 p.m. tonight, Jan. 25, through 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Closure:

Monday, Jan. 25 to Tuesday, Jan. 26

* Starting at 8 p.m., one lane in each direction will be closed to allow crews to mobilize. At 10 p.m., traffic on the eastbound side will remain open, but westbound lanes will close.
* Westbound traffic will be detoured from Church Ranch Boulevard over to Wadsworth Parkway and back to U.S. 36.
* All construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change.

The closure will allow the final segment of a new pedestrian bridge to be placed across the westbound span of the highway near Odeum Colorado (formerly the Broomfield Events Center), as part of the U.S. 36 Phase I Transit Improvements. The other two segments of the pedestrian bridge were placed in mid-December during an overnight closure of eastbound U.S. 36.

U.S. 36 BRT service is proposed to run along the 18-mile corridor between Downtown Denver and Boulder. It will serve Denver, Westminster, Broomfield, Superior, Louisville, Boulder, Niwot and Longmont.

For more information on the project, visit www.RTD-FasTracks.com.