Transportation agencies are leaning toward extending the new HOV/HOT lanes along U.S. 36 all the way to Boulder.
The idea is the second option for widening the 18-mile highway known popularly as the Boulder Turnpike.
The other option – which doesn’t including tolling – would add a free lane and an HOV lane each direction.
Last month, officials preparing an environmental study of U.S. 36 expansion considered two express toll lanes in each direction – with no opportunity for carpools to ride free.
But Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor and other local government leaders suggested converting that idea to high-occupancy toll, or HOT, lanes that charge those driving alone a toll but allow high- occupancy vehicles to ride at no cost in the same lanes as buses. Planners endorsed that idea Thursday.
On June 2, the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Tolling Enterprise converted about 7 miles of HOV lanes on Interstate 25 north of Coors Field into an HOT-lane operation that allows solo drivers to buy a faster commute by paying a toll.
The HOT lanes extend a short distance up the Boulder Turnpike to Pecos Street.
Adding barrier-separated HOT/ HOV lanes to U.S. 36 could be safer, since the barriers keep motorists from weaving in and out of the HOV lane – as might happen in the other option, officials said.
Some local leaders, including Westminster Mayor Nancy Mc Nally, have concerns about the new option.
Because the pay-for-use/HOV lanes would be separated from nontolled lanes by concrete barriers, motorists will have a more difficult time entering and exiting the highway to get to businesses, she said.
Another problem with that option is that it calls for ramps that could infringe on nearby residential areas, she said.
McNally said she might be able to support a “hybrid” of the two options, with tolled express lanes but also better local access.
CDOT regional director Pam Hutton acknowledged that tolls will not pay for construction of HOT/HOV lanes on the Boulder Turnpike. The state tolling agency has commissioned a financial analysis to determine how much revenue tolling might generate, she said. The state doesn’t have enough money to pay for new non-tolled lanes. Officials are examining a variety of options, including possible hikes in sales taxes, for road building.
There will be three public meetings, July 11, 12 and 13, for residents to comment on the U.S. 36 options.
More details on the meetings can be found online at US36EIS.com.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-820-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
