Northern Colorado growth could negate I-25 expansion efforts

It only took Russ Hansen three months of commuting to Denver from Fort Collins before he realized the trek was too miserable to do alone five days per week.

Instead, he started van-pooling three to four days a week, which cuts down his commute time thanks to the HOV lane.

Congestion on Interstate 25 in Northern Colorado has increased dramatically in recent years. In the past decade, the number of cars driving on the interstate at U.S. Highway 34 in Loveland has jumped from an average of 66,325 per day in 2006 to 80,077 last year, a nearly 21 percent increase.

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce has lobbied for expediting the expansion of I-25 in Northern Colorado and has argued that traffic congestion on the interstate has made it less likely that businesses will want to relocate or expand in the region.

While the Colorado Department of Transportation has plans to expand I-25 from Wellington to the Denver metro area, the project is set to be completed over the next five decades, with full completion not in sight until 2075.

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Given that timeline — and the fact the Northern Colorado phase of the project is already about 14 years ahead of schedule — it's likely that growth could outpace construction, creating a never-ending loop of more cars needing more improvements to roadways.

"When you look at California, they build eight lanes, and by the time they open it up, they're all filled," CDOT spokesman Jared Fiel said.

Larimer and Weld Counties in Northern Colorado are among the state's fastest growing areas, and the region expects to be home to about 500,000 new residents by 2040, according to the state demographer's office — 35 years before the I-25 expansion project is set to be complete.

CDOT's plans for the expansion include three general lanes and one express lane in each direction along I-25 from Northern Colorado to Denver.

Fiel said the express lane — a planned lane between Fort Collins and Johnstown — could help alleviate congestion because it gives people the choice to pay a fee to avoid heavy traffic. CDOT plans to begin construction on the Northern Colorado interstate expansion early next year and hopes to see it finished by late 2020. The project is expected to cost $237 million.

Part of what can make I-25 such a headache for drivers is not knowing how long a trip is likely to take. On good days, Hensen said he has traveled to Denver in less than an hour using the HOV lane. His worst commute lasted more than three hours.

This lack of predictability is one of the major concerns that will hopefully be addressed by adding express lanes on the interstate, Fiel said.

“(Reliability) is what we’re severely lacking on I-25,” he said. “Right now if you need to get to Denver in an hour, it’s a roll of the dice.”

Even as CDOT uses its limited budget to chip away at a mass of expansions many commuters hope for, solutions can sometimes come years after the initial problems are discovered.

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Earlier this month, CDOT started installing traffic lights at the southbound on-ramp at Harmony Road and I-25 and both on-ramps at Colorado Highway 392. However, the 2014 study that identified those three ramps as trouble spots was already years old by the time installation began. In fact, all ramps in the Fort Collins area would now qualify for the lights.

CDOT is also nearing completion on the additional "climbing lane" on southbound I-25 near Berthoud. The project was designed to give semi-trucks a lane to get up to speed on the hill without slowing down other traffic, but all three lanes are often full of cars during busy hours.

The spike in traffic along the interstate has given momentum to groups pushing for expansion of the interstate and has motivated some to try alternative ways to commute. In its plan for the Northern I-25 expansion project, also CDOT calls for increased carpooling and transit facilities.

For Hensen, using a van-pooling service ended up saving huge chunks of time.

"I was spending about 110 miles a day on the car and spending three hours a day in the car by myself," Hansen said about the months he spent making the solo drive down to Denver. "That was prior to Bustang (a bus route that takes people from Fort Collins to Denver), so really the only option was a van if I wanted to not drive every day."

Kathleen Osher, the executive director of transportation advocacy group Transit Alliance, said that having fewer people get around by themselves in cars would help reduce the strain on roads and help commuters avoid the negative health effects that can come with traveling long distances.

That means making sure that there are ways for people to commute on foot or by bike, she said, as well as good options for people who need to commute long distances. Bustang, offers several long-distance routes, though at $10 a pop, the price could be restrictive for some.

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The congestion conundrum can have huge effects on businesses and the local economy, said Sandra Hagen Solin, the head of the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, the advocacy arm of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland chambers of commerce.

For now, the top priority should be expanding I-25 to three lanes from Fort Collins to Longmont, Solin said. After that, she said, it's not clear what exact solution might be needed to keep up with the rapidly growing Northern Front Range.

"The pace of development and technology has been pretty remarkable, and I think innovation in that regard could very well be the next step of alleviating additional additional growth into the system," she said.  "What those specifically look like is unclear, but I think we're going to start seeing different solutions that are not yet fully conceived that could fully address those long-term growth needs in this region."

Upcoming projects

Here are some of the big ongoing or upcoming projects in Northern Colorado.

• Installation of traffic signals on some on-ramps: Ramp metering at the on-ramp for I-25 South at Harmony Road and both ramps at Colorado Highway 392 (Carpenter Road). This project began March 13 and is expected to be finished in mid-May. It is not expected to close any lanes. 
• New bridge at Crossroads Boulevard: CDOT has already begun this project demolishing and replacing the northbound bridge on I-25. CDOT expects to have the northbound bridge replaced by summer, at which point it will begin replacing the southbound bridge.
• Finishing the Berthoud climbing lanes: Construction crews will get back to work on the "climbing lanes" on the southbound portion of the interstate roughly between mile markers 245 and 249. In April, crews will get back to work an put the final layer of asphalt on the new climbing lane.