Welcome to the first official Project Highlight here on YGR. Although we’ve done a lot of infrastructure/trail/path updates over the years, this new feature will be a little more regular and perhaps a little more critical. We’re going to call out the good, the bad, and the ugly of Northern Colorado’s cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and soft surface trails or lack thereof. First up is the widening of Shields St from Willox to 287, but we’ll also be touching on Kechter Road in the area of the Kechter Bridge at I25, bike park efforts, the Taft and Harmony Project, the Poudre River Trail, trail connectivity to Coyote Ridge and to Horsetooth and maybe kick around the canal road mishmash a bit. If you have a project you’d like featured or would like to contribute, please reach out.
Enjoy.
Shields Street widening Between Willox Lane & Highway 287
This project will add six-foot shoulders to Shields Street between Willox Lane and Highway 287 and add a center turn lane to the most northern 1/4 mile. These improvements encompass the site where Luis Loma was killed in a hit-and-run on October 6th, 2021. The murderer has yet to be identified. The improvements will eliminate a gap in paved shoulders for bike lanes on Shields (CR 50) north and south of this section, between Willox Ln and US 287 all of which have additional paved shoulders for bike lanes. Those of you who ride this area regularly will note that this project was supposed to take place in 2021, 2022, and 2023. It is set to go out for competitive bid this fall with construction anticipated to begin in early 2024 and completed in the Summer of 2024. This will make a great way out of the North central area of town.
From the County
SCOPE OF WORK
Widen County Road 17 (Shields Street) from just north of Willox Lane to the railroad tracks just south of Highway 287 (0.9 mile) to accommodate six-foot-wide shoulders and at the north end (0.25 mile +/-) a two-way center turn lane.
Construction Budget: $2.8 million ($1,852,000 federal grant, $948,000 county match – administered by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
PROJECT STATUS
Final design is complete and has been approved by CDOT to advertise for construction bids. Due to delays in utility relocation efforts and required phasing to construct the project, the project was delayed and will be set to go out for competitive bid in the Fall of 2023 with construction anticipated to begin in early 2024 and completed in the Summer of 2024. Utility relocations are anticipated to continue through the Spring/Summer 2023.
CONTACT
Jake Wilson, Project Manager
(970) 498-5723
Email Jake Wilson
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