Westminster – Local government officials are criticizing highway planners for dragging out a study of possible Boulder Turnpike expansion options and for promoting a toll-lane alternative that could curtail local access.
Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin called the $15 million environmental study of transportation improvements for the U.S. 36 corridor the “perfect example of bureaucratic boondoggle” and questioned why he’s attended two years of “mind-numbing” meetings.
Ruzzin spoke in Westminster at a briefing for local officials about the status of the U.S. 36 improvement project, which has been in progress for three years.
Planners are looking at three possible options for U.S. 36 – no improvements; adding two lanes in each direction, including one reserved for carpools and buses; adding two express lanes in each direction in which buses and carpools would ride free and single-occupant vehicles could buy their way in.
Each of the two expansion options would cost more than $1 billion. Colorado Department of Transportation officials say they haven’t identified sources of money to pay for either proposal.
The express option essentially would extend the current high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes that begin on Interstate 25 near Coors Field and run to Pecos Street on U.S. 36.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally vigorously criticized the HOT option, claiming it would offer very limited access from the express lanes for drivers who want to visit local businesses in the U.S. 36 corridor.
“You are being very shortsighted,” McNally told planners.
If the HOT option is selected, it should have “slip ramps” that allow motorists to move easily between regular and express lanes and enter and exit the highway with ease, she said.
Echoing McNally’s concerns, Broomfield Mayor Karen Stuart said the HOT option needs far better access to the FlatIron Crossing commercial district.
Rick Pilgrim, a consultant leading the U.S. 36 study, said no final decisions have been made and local officials and the public will have ample opportunity to comment on and alter the alternatives.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
