Representatives from across Colorado and even the nation’s capital gathered in east Berthoud Thursday afternoon overlooking Interstate 25 to celebrate the beginning of the next leg of the interstate’s expansion project. Once complete, the new segment will connect Fort Collins and Denver with three lanes of traffic in both directions.
“After more than 50 years … and 4 million more people in Colorado, with help from counties and city leaders and the business community, Colorado’s main street, I-25, gets a much needed makeover finally,” said State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. “It is important not just to Northern Colorado but all of Colorado to secure our economic future.”
The celebration and next portion of construction comes around six months after the Colorado Department of Transportation celebrated the completion of the project’s previous segment through Loveland and up to Fort Collins and the opening of express lanes in the area.
The next section of the 5-year-old expansion project, labeled as Segment 5, will expand the interstate in both directions between Mead and Berthoud. This portion of the project officially began May 12 and is expected to be completed in 2028.
Heather Paddock, Colorado Department of Transportation Region 4 regional transportation director, said during the event that this portion of the project will, like in the other segments, expand the six-mile stretch to three lanes in both directions through the addition of an express lane as well as reconstructing bridges and an interchange into Mead.
“I-25, as I have mentioned many, many times before, is the vital backbone and the spine of Northern Colorado, but it can also create a barrier between the east and west connections,” she said. “This project is adding those multimodal components with every single bridge it is building as it moves it way up I-25, so communities like Loveland and Greeley can connect across (to) each other.”
Paddock said Segment 5 is expected to cost $425 million, bringing the total cost for the project from Mead to Fort Collins above $1 billion; the section between Berthoud and Johnstown cost $305 million and the section from Johnstown to Fort Collins cost $302 million, according to CDOT’s website. Funding for the project has come from a variety of state, federal and local funding avenues.
Those who were present during the event Thursday spoke highly of what the expansion will mean once it is completed to get local residents to different areas of Northern Colorado as well as for the many shipping and transport vehicles that travel the roadway.
Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt, who is also a former CDOT director, said I-25 is a key artery for both Colorado and the nation that connects Canada and Mexico through the U.S. But for all local residents, he said the completion of the next phase of this project will mean they can get home to family quicker or transport goods and products faster.
“I always talk about transformation through transportation, and what has happened here is Colorado has transformed over the years,” he said. “Now the transportation is going to transform to catch up.”
“Segment 5 is more than just a road improvement, it is a testament to our collective vision and shared purpose,” said Mead Mayor Colleen Whitlow.
CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew thanked all those who have worked on the expansion, saying it can be difficult completing a project that has so many phases and changes and comes with price tags of hundreds of millions of dollars.
“It is not an accident we are here so soon after the last milestone event,” she said. “It is just a tribute to all the project managers on the team who are top of their game in keeping all of us focused on getting this done.”
Paddock said that as construction starts two lanes in both directions will remain open but said there will be some lane closures at night. She also said that drivers can expect to see narrower shoulders on the road in this section “in the very near future.”
She asked that drivers pay attention to the posted speeds and specifically to pay attention in cone zones.
“Bear with us,” Paddock said. “Be patient with us through construction, and we thank you for your continued patience and support as we move this important construction project forward.”
More information on the project can be found on CDOT’s website.
