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18 Northern Colorado Transit Projects Selected for Federal Funding

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Adding pedestrian and bike lanes to operating regional bus system are part of 18 transportation projects selected by the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Council to receive federal funding in Weld and Larimer counties.

The projects fall within three categories including surface upgrades to congestion mitigation and air quality. In that category Weld County is slated to receive $2.1 million to replace or retrofit its service fleet with natural gas powered vehicles. And in Larimer County, the city of Loveland will receive funding to continue its FLEX bus operations for a third year.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal.

“A lot of this hinges on what will happen in Washington with the reauthorizing of transportation funding,” says NFRMPO Senior Transportation Planner Stan Elmquist.

48 applications were submitted last fall. Each were seeking part of an anticipated $16.4 million dollars in federal highway administration funding for northern Colorado.  Federal funding is guaranteed through September. But after that Elmquist says they may have to go back and cut the number of projects even further.

The funding for the current round of projects covers four upcoming years from 2012 through 2015. Applicants are expected to cover up to 20 percent of the total cost of the project.

Email: brian.larson@kunc.org