Sometimes activity in the US 36 corridor is so fluid, it is hard to know when to provide an update, for fear that it will be outdated by the time I hit the “post” button.  There has been so much positive progress in recent weeks, though, that I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it.

First, it was recently announced that the US 36 corridor will receive $10 million from the federal government to put toward improvements associated with the bus-rapid-transit (BRT) system through the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program.  More detailed Daily Camera coverage of this grant award is available at the following link:  http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_14416635?IADID=Search-www.coloradodaily.com-www.coloradodaily.com#axzz0kgSKEvE5. 

There is no question that $10 million is far removed from the total cost of completing the BRT system, let alone all the other planned transportation investments for the US 36 highway.  However, these funds are expected to leverage additional dollars from RTD and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), allowing us to begin work on lengthening the HOV lanes between Denver and Boulder.  I also am working with other leaders in the US 36 corridor to pursue low-interest federal loans to cover further corridor improvements.

Most importantly, the TIGER grant is evidence of the positive attention the US 36 improvement plans are receiving, both locally and nationally.  As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during a recent celebration of the TIGER grant, ”The recovery act was designed to reward effectiveness, to reward entrepreneurial thinking, to think in new fresh different ways.  You are entrepreneurial in your thinking.”  The Speaker’s words are a great inspiration to me as I work to complete the full vision for transit improvements in the US 36 corridor.

While we are making progress in the pursuit of funding to cover some of the major infrastructure investments for the BRT system, the other good news is that real improvements in bus service between Denver and Boulder already are moving forward.  In particular, the new Broomfield park-n-Ride is expected to be completed in May.  You can read more about the work on that project through the following link:  http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/media/uploads/us36/Broomfield_pnR_Fact_Sheet_VF_21010.pdf.

I can hardly wait for the first time that I realize the local B bus no longer needs to take the long, circuitous jog off US 36 to reach the current Broomfield park-n-Ride along Wadsworth.  The travel time savings will be upwards of 15 minutes, which will mean a lot to me on those late-night return trips from my RTD Board meetings, as I am sure it will for those of you who ride that same bus route. 

There are other planned investments in the works for the US 36 corridor, including construction of a new passenger pick-up area at the Table Mesa park-n-Ride.  That project is expected to break ground shortly and, at completion, also will lead to significant travel time savings.

So, while I will continue to look for every opportunity to move all of our planned transit improvements for the US 36 corridor forward, as quickly as possible, I am pleased to report that there has been a lot of progress.