Pioneering sustainable travel options.

Funding was the theme of the breakfast meeting, where more than 150 representatives from Congress, transportation, business and citizenry gathered at the Westminster City Park Recreation Center. 

“The U.S. 36 FEIS is a major milestone for U.S. 36 transportation planning.  It took six years and unprecedented regional collaboration between local governments, CDOT and RTD to complete.  Now, it is time to get serious about funding the plan,” said Audrey DeBarros, 36 Commuting Solutions Executive Director. 

Guest speakers included U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, 2^nd District of Colorado; U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, 7^th District of Colorado; Russell George, Executive Director of CDOT; Phillip Washington, Interim General Manager of RTD; Lee Kemp, Chair of the RTD Board of Directors and Nancy McNally, Mayor of the City of Westminster.   

Congressmen Ed Perlmutter, 7th District of Colorado, and Jared Polis, 2nd District of Colorado, expressed their support of the U.S. 36 transportation plan at the August 19th event.  

CDOT Executive Director Russell George emphasized the need for funding to make the U.S. 36 project happen.  

“Though it seems like we’re in a key place, it’s really not the finish line,” said Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Russell George. “Going forward, U.S. 36 is all about money.”

Transportation planners unveiled the U.S. 36 transportation plan, called the Preferred Alternative, which includes multi-modal solutions including managed lanes, Bus Rapid Transit and a corridor-wide bikeway.  The vision also includes replacing outdated bridges and aging pavement.  

Improving the highway will cost $1.3 billion. “I won’t predict where these dollars will come from,” George said.  But he said he was confident that given the cooperation among numerous municipal governments, businesses and agencies during the planning process, U.S. 36 is well positioned to win funding over projects that haven’t been through such a rigorous review.  

"Now that the environmental impact study is done, this project will be shovel-ready,” said Nancy McNally, Mayor of Westminster.  

“RTD is excited about the long term vision for U.S. 36 and committed to doing what it can to help the U.S. 36 project get built,“ declared Lee Kemp, Chair of the RTD Board of Directors. 

Lee Kemp, Chair of the RTD Board of Directors, spoke about the significance of the U.S. 36 FEIS in U.S. 36 transportation planning as well as the long-term vision for the corridor. 

Speaking on behalf of the U.S. 36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition, Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally spoke about the importance of regional collaboration throughout the U.S. 36 planning process.  

The U.S. 36 coalition, in partnership with CDOT and RTD, will turn to the federal government for the bulk of the money. We plan to submit an application next month to the U.S. Department of Transportation to win $100 million to $200 million in federal economic-recovery grants.

We also want to be at the front of the line when Congress selects transportation projects to be included in the authorization of the federal surface transportation bill.

Congressman Polis told the gathering he would do what he could in Washington, D.C. to get funding for the heavily used corridor.  “Highway 36 is my top highway to fund,” he said.

The event successfully galvanized political and stakeholder support for U.S. 36 transportation improvements and quest for funding.  Take action to keep the momentum going and join the Help Us Fix U.S. 36 campaign.  Visit 36commutingsolutions.org to get involved.