$1 million grant to assist with county road project
Published on August 03, 2023
Work began in June to deliver improvements to Weld County Road (WCR) 77 between Highway 14 and WCR 100. This week, the total cost of the project to the county was lessened as the Weld County Board of Commissioners entered into an Intergovernmental Grant Agreement with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), who is contributing $1 million to the $3.1 million project.
“Road projects are necessary to ensure we provide a transportation system that remains safe and efficient,” said Mike Freeman, Weld County Commissioner Chair. “However, road projects can be expensive, so any time we can recoup some of our costs it’s a good thing. We appreciate DOLA’s contribution to this project and the work of our Public Works department to apply for this grant.”
The improvements coming to the five-mile road north of Briggsdale center around the creation of a new driving surface. Crews have begun removing asphalt on the road. Once that is complete, the road will be rebuilt using full depth reclamation (FDR), a process which utilizes a portion of the road’s existing asphalt to strengthen the road’s structure. Once FDR is complete, crews will pave the repaired road with new asphalt. The project also involves widening the shoulders to six feet along portions of each side of WCR 77 and installing a pull-off area. Additionally, crews are currently in the process of replacing nine culverts near the road. The project is anticipated to be complete by Nov. 3, 2023.
“We’re working hard to deliver these improvements, and I'm pleased that this grant will help us offset a portion of the material costs associated with this project,” said Curtis Hall, Director of the Weld County Department of Public Works. “What this grant shows, as well as the others we apply for, is how we work to make the best use of taxpayer dollars, while striving to make sure our road meet the needs of the traveling public.”
Board approves grant submissions
In addition to accepting the $1 million grant for the WCR 77 project, the board also approved the submission of two other grants to DOLA for a future phase two road project on WCR 77 between WCR 100 and WCR 106 and for the High Plains Boulevard design-build project. If these grants are awarded, they could bring in $200,000 and $1 million, respectively, to each project. Two grant applications were also submitted for local match assistance to the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, a new federal program. If awarded, DOLA has the option to reimburse the county its local match requirement for its participation in a “Safe Streets for All” safety study as well as its local match requirement in a “Multimodal Project Discretionary Mega Grant” for future improvements to segment five of I-25, between Highway 66 and Highway 56.