Carbondale, CDOT review Highway 133 safety, funding and access-control options

Carbondale trustees and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Region 3 staff met at a special work session to review planning and funding options for improvements on State Highway 133, focusing on pedestrian and bicycle crossings, traffic volumes and permitting pathways.

The meeting matters because traffic on the corridor is tracking toward levels forecast in the town’s access control plan, trustees said, raising questions about how to pay for crosswalks, safer intersections and longer-term changes while navigating CDOT permitting and limited state and federal funds.

CDOT Region 3 staff outlined three main ways a community can build work on a state highway: (1) a local agency project funded through state or federal grants and administered through CDOT’s local agency group; (2) a highway access permit for intersection work funded by the town or private developers; and (3) a special use permit for work along a length of highway that is not at an intersection. CDOT staff said most communities pursue access or special use permits unless they secure substantial grant funding.

CDOT staff recommended several grant avenues that have been used in the region. The state Revitalizing Main Streets program was cited as an example: Delta used a temporary demonstration to win about $13,000,000 to make a pilot configuration…