US 36 Express Lanes/Bus Rapid Transit Project

US 36 between Denver and Boulder opened as a toll road in 1951. The toll road bonds were paid off early and the tolling infrastructure was removed in 1968. When it was built, this four lane road had only one interchange between Denver and Boulder. In response to rapid population growth, there are now 10 interchanges along US 36 between I-25 and Boulder. However, the number of main through-lanes has remained at four.

In December on 2009, the Colorado Department of Transportation completed an Environmental Impact Statement which described Preferred Alternative improvements to the corridor which would be implemented in the future as funding became available. The main elements in the Preferred Alternative include one buffer-separated managed lane in each direction, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) ramp stations, auxiliary lanes between most interchanges, and a bikeway.

These two projects will be the first steps in implementing improvements described in the US 36 Environmental Impact Statement.