FTA Suggests $40M for West Corridor/New E-470 Board Members Elected/CDOT Honors Maintenance Workers

The Federal Transportation Administration has earmarked $40 million in its Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on Funding Recommendations for the FasTracks West Corridor.

FTA Recommends $40M in FY ‘08 for West Corridor

The Regional Transportation District is one step closer to receiving a full-funding grant agreement from the Federal Transit Administration for the FasTracks West Corridor Light Rail project. It’s one of two projects in the nation to move up to “pending” status for new-starts funding.

In FTA’s Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on Funding Recommendations, the West Corridor is identified to receive $40 million in 2008, which will be included in the full $290.55 million appropriated over the next several years to help fund the project.
The West Corridor, a 12.1-mi. light rail line that will run from downtown Denver through Lakewood to the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden, will be the first project built and operational as part of RTD’s FasTracks program.

COSMIX Continues Toward Finish Line

The southbound off-ramp from Interstate 25 to Garden of the Gods Road (Exit 146) opened in late February in its final alignment, marking the completion of another milestone on the COSMIX project in Colorado Springs.

Earlier in the month, crews reopened the off-ramp to Corporate Centre Drive from southbound Interstate 25 in Colorado Springs.

Construction on the $150 million COSMIX—the largest highway project in the history of Colorado Springs—began in July 2005. It’s scheduled for completion by the end of 2007, a year earlier than the Colorado Department of Transportation’s original schedule.

New Members Appointed to E-470 Board of Directors

Three new members were appointed this winter to the E-470 Public Highway Authority board of directors—Frank Weddig, Arapahoe County commissioner; Melanie Worley, Douglas County commissioner; and Erik Hansen, city of Thornton council member.

Weddig and Worley, newly elected county commissioners of their respective counties, replaced former board members Lynn Myers and Mike Maxwell. Hansen replaced Noel Busck, former mayor of Thornton.

The board also elected Parker Mayor David Casiano as its new chairperson. Casiano has served on the board for three years and was vice-chairman in 2006.

Ed Tauer, mayor of Aurora, was elected as vice-chairman, and Jan Pawlowski, mayor of Brighton, was elected as secretary-treasurer. Tauer has been a board member for four years and Pawlowski has served for five years.

$37M Project Will Reconstruct ‘Outdated’ Portion of I-25

The widening and reconstruction of Interstate 25 through Trinidad is under way.

Lawrence Construction Co. of Littleton is the contractor for the $37-million Colorado Department of Transportation project. It will reconstruct northbound I-25 from Van Buren Street to Goddard Avenue, including the viaduct, mainline bridges over the Purgatoire River and Main Street and the entrance and exit ramps at the Main and Commercial street interchanges.

The project also involves excavation work, asphalt paving, new guardrails, lighting, other utility improvements, landscaping, signing and striping.

CDOT recognized three highway maintenance professionals from across the state in February during ceremonies before the Colorado Transportation Commission in Denver.

The honorees were Matthew Jacobs of Cascade and Richard Sisneros of Antonito, who received Achievement Awards for Service; and Cliff Corwin of Arvada, who received a Customer Service Achievement Award.

Jacobs was honored for helping rescue on Nov. 25 six occupants of a wrecked vehicle that went off U.S. Highway 550 north of Coal Bank Pass and down a 100-ft mountainside.

Sisneros was honored for his work last April at the scene of a one-car accident on State Highway 17 not far from the New Mexico border, during which he carried two children up a 200-ft mountainside covered with snow and loose rock and helped in the evacuation of two adults.

Corwin, a 13-year CDOT employee who works with the Denver-area landscape crew, was honored for his work with various media outlets to help keep the public informed and meet media needs during an unprecedented round of winter storms and severe cold that struck the Denver area late last December.

The Colorado Department of Transportation began an interchange improvement project in early February at I-70 and State Highway 58 in Jefferson County.

The two-year project will construct two new ramps and reconstruct or realign several others in order to improve access and traffic efficiency at this interchange. In all, the project will construct, reconstruct or realign five ramps:
• A ramp from eastbound I-70 to westbound S.H. 58 will be built;
• A ramp from eastbound S.H. 58 to westbound I-70 will be built;
• The existing ramp from eastbound S.H. 58 to eastbound I-70 will be realigned and reconstructed without replacing the existing bridge;
• The existing ramp from westbound I-70 to westbound S.H. 58 will be realigned and reconstructed;
• The existing ramp from northbound Youngfield Street to eastbound I-70 will be relocated approximately one-quarter mile mile to the south to create a longer acceleration lane.