Weld County will join Larimer County and seven northern Colorado municipalities to cut back on congestion along U.S. 34, county commissioners agreed.
The Weld County Board of Commissioners contributed $2,778 to help form the first Northern Colorado U.S. 34 Transportation Management Organization. That group, or TMO, is being tasked with helping traffic congestion due to growth in the area.
“Helping to form this TMO is important because as Northern Colorado continues to grow, so too will the demand on Highway 34,” said Scott James, Weld County Commissioner and county representative on the (North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization). This TMO continues our commitment to improving traffic flow and creating efficiencies for residents.”
U.S. 34 is a road that begins in Granby and continues for 260 miles in Colorado and then beyond, continuing to Illinois.
According to officials, Weld County and other local governments have joined to form TMO regarding Colorado’s stretch of U.S. 34, with each contributing $2,778 in local funding. The local governments are Larimer County and the towns of Estes Park, Loveland, Johnstown, Windsor, Greeley, Evans, and Kersey.
The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization is a member of Weld County and received a $212,500 Office of Innovative Mobility Grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The money is used to hire a consultant who will work with TMO participants such as business owners, developers and chambers of commerce to do to a study of traffic demand management approaches and ideas to reduce congestion on U.S. Highway 34, according to officials.
With traffic demand management services, they could develop ideas such as public transit and incentives for drivers to carpool or work remotely. Working with the North Front Range planning organization, the county governments could come up with strategies to improve the U.S. 34 corridor.
The Traffic Management Organization is expected to begin work later this year or early 2025. According to officials, there are more than 125 similar groups throughout the U.S., with nine currently operating in Colorado.
Goals for the U.S. 34 TMO include developing solutions to traffic congestion and air-quality issues on northern U.S. Highway 34, according to officials.
Visit here for more information on Transportation Management Organizations in Colorado.