Neguse secures $1.87M to improve one of Fort Collins’ most dangerous intersections

Molly Bohannon, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·2 min read

With the passage of the $1.7 trillion omnibus government spending bill last December, money was allocated to hundreds of local governments across the country, including Fort Collins.

Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse, who represents Northern Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives, secured $1,870,000 of the community project funding portion of the bill to be used to improve the College Avenue and Trilby Road intersection in south Fort Collins.

“I’m proud that we were able to secure funding for this critical priority for Fort Collins,” Neguse told the Coloradoan in a statement. “The city of Fort Collins will be able to make key improvements to our community’s infrastructure because of this investment, bolstering the safety and wellbeing of drivers, passengers and pedestrians.”

College and Trilby was the city’s most dangerous intersection between 2019 and 2021, and had been the second-most dangerous crossing before that. According to previous Coloradoan reporting, from 2019-2021, crashes at that intersection cost $576,638 more than expected for an intersection of its type and exceeded the expected overall number of crashes and severe crashes involving injuries or fatalities.

Per the city’s website, improvements to the intersection should include:

  • A reconstruction of the intersection.

  • Dual left-turn lanes from College Avenue to Trilby Road.

  • Right-turn lanes for each direction of travel.

  • A widened Trilby Road approach to College Avenue.

The federal funding gets the project closer to being fully funded, but city Director of Planning, Development and Transportation Caryn Champine said it’s not yet fully funded.

The total project cost is $16.6 million, and Champine said the city needs $3.8 million more for it to be fully funded.

The city does have enough funding to begin the utility package portion of the project later this year.

Brad Buckman, director of the city’s engineering department, said the project will require stormwater infrastructure, and the utility package will provide that stormwater infrastructure before they get to “on surface improvements.”

Molly Bohannon covers Fort Collins government for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: College and Trilby intersection work nears full funding in Fort Collins