Pioneering sustainable travel options.

About the Campaign Take Action! Campaign Resources Press Kit  Email Sign-Up 

About the campaign

Help Us Fix U.S. 36 is a grassroots political campaign to advocate for increased funding for U.S. 36.  These funds will help build innovative transportation improvements that will enhance mobility and safety while preserving the unique beauty of the U.S. 36 region for years to come. 

The Problem.  U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder is an aging highway.  Built in 1951 as a toll road, few improvements have been made to the corridor since its original construction despite enormous population and economic growth the past five decades.

  • Traffic congestion is increasing. U.S. 36 commuters experience 3-4 hours of severe congestion every day.

  • Demand for transit is unmet. 13,000 commuters use transit along U.S. 36 every day, but more commuters want to ride the bus.

  • U.S. 36 is aging. Sections of U.S. 36 are more than 50 years old. One-third of the asphalt has less than 5 years of service life remaining.

  • Our bridges are crumbling. 10 bridges along U.S. 36 are rated “Functionally Obsolete” or “Structurally Deficient.”

  • It’s getting worse. By the year 2035, population along U.S. 36 is expected to rise 28% and employment will expand 53%.

The Solution.  Transportation planners have finished a 7-year environmental study of proposed transportation improvements for the 18-mile-long U.S. 36 corridor.  The study, called the U.S. 36 Environmental Impact Statement, recommends a multi-modal solution that includes Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), HOV/HOT lane, a corridor wide commuter bikeway,  highway expansion and bridge reconstruction.  The total cost of these critical improvements, called the Preferred Alternative,  is $1.3 billion.  CDOT expects to have $711 million of that total over time, but most will not be available until 2021, if at all.  Click here for more information about the U.S. 36 Preferred Alternative.  

The Opportunities.  There are two major funding opportunities happening now to build a portion of the U.S. 36 Preferred Alternative: the FTA Bus Livability Grant and the U.S. DOT TIGER Discretionary Grant. 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus Livability Grant.  On February 10, 2010, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) submitted an application to receive funds available through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus Livability Grant.  RTD is seeking federal funds to procure up to 20 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses to replace intercity buses that have exceeded their useful life with more fuel efficient and clean BRT specific buses. U.S. 36 BRT Bus Procurement Project will also complement the completion of Phase 1 BRT Improvements on U.S. 36, scheduled for May 2010.  Click here for more information about the FTA Bus Livability Grant. 

This federal funding opportunity is extremely competitive.  Click here to learn what YOU can do to help the U.S. 36 Bus Livability Grant application be successful.  

RTD recently applied for federal funds to procure up to 20 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses to replace aging U.S. 36 buses.  BRT buses, like the one pictured above, are more fuel efficient and lower to the ground than traditional buses, which expedites boarding and reduces overall travel time.  

U.S. DOT TIGER Discretionary Grant.  On September 15, 2009, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) submitted an application on behalf of the U.S. 36 corridor to receive funds available through the United States Department of Transportation’s  Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant Program.  The application requests $100-$200 million to help build  multi-modal transportation improvements along U.S. 36.  Without these funds, meaningful transportation improvements will not take place for many years.  

TIGER grant recipients were announced February 17, 2010 and U.S. 36 was awarded $10 million.  Click here for more information. Click here for more information about the U.S. DOT TIGER Grant.