By Kristin Stephens | Larimer County Commissioner
We’re on the move in Northern Colorado. Think about the last time you took your child to school, visited the doctor, traveled to work, visited the grocery store, or ran an errand. You probably weren’t thinking about the roads or bridges you crossed, but they’re all part of an intricate network that lets us get from one place to another. We depend on them every day.
Our roads and bridges are connectors that bring us to the places we love, deliver goods, and serve us in emergencies. If you travel between Loveland and Fort Collins, up to Laporte or Red Feather Lakes, or even to Carter Lake or Horsetooth Reservoir, you will likely drive on a county road at some point during that journey. This vital transportation system allows us to get to work, shopping centers, and beautiful recreation areas.
Larimer County owns and maintains about 868 miles of county and subdivision roads and hundreds of bridges across well-loved parts of our county. Larimer County’s function is much more than asphalt and gravel; we ensure these roads are safe and navigable for residents and visitors. With the help of the community, our Larimer on the Move plan has identified over $840 million in projects that will help Larimer County safely meet the needs of our community into the future.
When one of the roads we travel is closed for repair, we notice and sometimes find another route to finish our journey. Keeping roads and bridges open and safe requires more than routine maintenance. It means planning for improvements, emergency repairs following disasters, snow removal, bridge replacement, and improved signage and signals at intersections. It’s all designed to keep us safe and mobile.
During an emergency, a road is a lifeline. It’s a way an ambulance, fire engine, or emergency responder reaches us when we need help. It serves as a way out when disaster strikes and a route home afterward. Most of us remember the 2013 floods when whole communities were stranded, unable to travel because flooded rivers and creeks made bridges and roads impassable. Powerful floodwater swept away a few bridges, too; it was a scary time! Changes to FEMA and the lack of federal and state dollars make it challenging to rebuild after similar natural disasters. We need to think about local solutions.
Maintaining a transportation system that we’re accustomed to, and one that keeps us safe, comes at a cost and requires investing for the future. Our county is growing, and many of our roads and bridges in Larimer County were once rural and never designed to handle the high volumes of traffic that have accompanied our growing population.
In the past 10 years, transportation costs have increased by about 123%; a project that cost $1 million a decade ago would cost about $2.23 million today.
We’ve encouraged a multi-pronged approach to other transportation choices through cycling, e-bike infrastructure, and pedestrian-friendly design that encourages walking, biking, and other forms of active transportation. We want our residents to have choices, which is why we have increased shoulder width on popular bike routes like Owl Canyon Road and recently opened the Poudre Trail which now reaches Greeley. Still, our roads and bridges are crucial to how we get around in Northern Colorado.
Our transportation system is crucial to our well-being and our community. It’s an investment for all of us. If we invest in it now, it will pay considerable dividends in the future.
Kristin Stephens is a Larimer County Commissioner serving all of Larimer County.
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