Bolstered by a significant infusion of new funding, plans in Fort Collins are advancing for the creation of a multi-modal corridor project traversing through a dense portion of the city populated with multi-story apartment complexes, restaurants, and stores.
Funding for the effort is coming through a $10.7 million grant from the federal Department of Transportation, which will also pay for converting an existing intersection into a roundabout to help channel the flow of vehicular traffic.
Prime focus of the project is West Elizabeth Street, which connects the main campus and Foothills campus of Colorado State University.
The 3-mile West Elizabeth Enhanced Travel Corridor Plan was adopted by the city in 2016, with actual design work on the project beginning last year.
Construction work will now also see the building of erosion control facilities, as well as drainage and utilities infrastructure.
According to city documents, the project is additionally expected to focus on “Americans with Disabilities Act facilities, high-comfort bike facilities, traffic-calming measures, and enhanced parkways and planted medians.”
The bike component is especially important in the plan: some 2,000 bicyclists travel up and down West Elizabeth daily, challenged by incomplete bike lanes. For pedestrians, the corridor has been marked by a lack of sidewalks.
Funding for the West Elizabeth project is more specifically coming through the Transportation Department’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Discretionary Grant program.
“This grant will help to connect students, families, and workers across Fort Collins,” remarked Colorado Representative Joe Neguse, who has long advocated for federal funding for the project.
In a letter sent earlier this year to the Transportation Department, Neguse particularly noted that construction of a new transit station would “support the specific transportation needs of students and staff at Colorado State University.”
Design work on the project is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with work launching in 2024.
By Garry Boulard
