Colorado receives $28.6 million for road safety improvements

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Street and Roads for All program has provided $28.6 million to 11 Colorado communities to improve roadway safety and prevent death and injuries.

"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the most significant investment in America's roads, bridges, and essential infrastructure since President Eisenhower built the interstate highway system,” U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, said in a statement. “This funding will help Colorado meet the needs of our growing population, fuel our local economies, and improve the safety of our roadways."

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper expressed a similar sentiment.

“As our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is building new roads and investing in our nation’s infrastructure, we’re also hard at work to make our local Colorado roads safer for families,” Hickenlooper said.

Gunnison County was the largest recipient of this funding, receiving $15,265,600. It got the money to make various improvements along State Highway 135, a rural two-lane highway in a county with a traffic fatality rate three times higher than the state average, a release said.

"The project will boost safety for all roadway users, mitigate traffic congestion, improve the accessibility of bus transit, foster connections to affordable housing and job opportunities, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," the release said. "Improvements include adding center- and edge-line rumble strips, extending guardrails, speed-limit modifications, sidewalk enhancements, installation of roundabouts, a pedestrian underpass, transit bus pullouts, and upgrades to Gunnison Valley’s emergency service provider capabilities."

Denver County was the second-biggest recipient, receiving $6,755,619 of the funding. Denver County will use the funding to make improvements in downtown Denver, where 20% of its fatal and serious injury car crashes happen.

"Improvements include hardened centerlines, painted/pre-cast concrete pedestrian refuges, bike corral bump-outs for daylighting, re-timing of pedestrian countdown signals to increase walk times at key intersections to/from high ridership transit stops, increased signal visibility, and protected left turns," the release explained.

Other communities that received over $1 million include: Fort Collins ($1,739,944), Longmont ($1.2 million), and Colorado Springs ($1,048,800).