A Second Push To Expand I-25 Between Fort Collins & Loveland
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Despite failing to secure the necessary money the first time, political and civic leaders in Northern Colorado say they're not giving up on plans to expand Interstate 25, and there's a new push to get the funding.
The proposed expansion would be along I-25 between Fort Collins and Loveland. In order to widen that stretch of interstate to three lanes, planners say some of the bridges over it first need to be expanded. They're currently working on a second attempt to find the millions of dollars needed to do get that done.
"It's just too congested and dangerous for everybody," Wellington resident Rudolph Baldivia said.
"Early morning there's a lot of traffic out there," said Andrew Hackett from Scotts Bluff, Nebraska.
Leaders say they know the solution – it's finding the money to pay for that solution that is holding up progress.
"This is going to be bite number two and potentially bite number three of the apple," Larimer County Commissioner Tom Donnelly said.
After learning early this year the state will not get the millions of federal dollars needed to expand I-25, Donnelly says leaders will take another swing at bat. They're working on two new grant applications for a combined total of nearly $200 million, and already set aside up to $10 million in local tax money.
"Because we're willing to step up, we stepped up early and have made our intentions clear, and I think that's giving us a real leg up," Donnelly said.
Project planners want to add a third lane over a 14-mile stretch from Highway 402 in Loveland to Highway 14 in Fort Collins. But first they'll need to expand the bridges. If leaders are successful this second time around, Donnelly says they could start the expansion in the next three to five years.
"The more people that move in, the more dangerous it gets, because there are just too many cars," Donnelly said.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is still moving forward with its plan to put in a temporary fix -- a climbing lane on the southbound side near Berthoud to alleviate the traffic that builds there when trucks trudge up that long stretch of hill.
