DRCOG’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) – January 25, 2021

DRCOG’s TAC via GoToMeeting beginning at 1:30pm. Amendments to the 2020-2023 Transportation Improvement Program were proposed and approved. These amendments included the following:

  • New Project I-2I-25/Crystal Valley Pkwy Interchange: Preconstruction Activities Add $5,400,000 in BUILD funds for environmental clearances, design, and right-of-way purchases.
  • New Project I-70 Noise Walls Add $9,700,000 in state COVID-19 relief funds to repair and replace noise walls along the I-70 corridor throughout the region.
  • 2018-015 I-25/SH-119 Interchange and Park-N-Ride Improvements Add $6,123,000 in SB-267 funds for construction.
  • 2020-086 I-25 Valley Highway: Phases 3 and 4 Replace $575,000 in SB-1 funding for RPP funds. Add $45,000,000 in loan funding and $15,500,000 in SB-267 funding for property acquisition.

Regional Transportation Committee (RTD) amendments to the FY 2020-FY 2021 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) describing the MPO’s transportation planning activities were proposed and approved.

Recommendations to the RTC for the 2021 Safety targets as required by the FAST Act were proposed and approved.

There was a presentation by Bonnie Trowbridge of Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition, a group of more than one hundred stakeholders working to address air quality concerns through clean transportation solutions. They provide services to help fleets transition to cleaner fuels and technologies with advising and educational services that include electric vehicle ride & drives, clean vehicle and alt fuel assessments, and grant writing.

A status update on the 2050 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan was provided. This was followed by continuing discussion from a TAC workshop held earlier in the month around $53.3 million in unallocated funding available to program to projects on the TIP waiting lists, including approximately $36.2 million in Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 funding. The Coronavirus Relief funds are in the form of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program funds, with the added stipulations that they must be obligated by September 30, 2024 and are eligible for reimbursement at a rate of up to 100% federal share. For more information about next steps for these available funds, contact Todd Cottrell at tcottrell@drcog.org.