Pending federal funding could fix Commerce City roads

Commerce City’s leadership was advised Monday to keep fingers crossed that Congress will finalize its budget for 2024 — so the city can receive grant money for sorely needed road projects.

That input — delivered to Mayor Steve Douglas and fellow City Council members at this week’s council study session — came from veteran Colorado political consultant Mike Dino. Dino works with noted law firm Squire Patton Boggs, which is helping connect the dots between cities and the federal government.

Still pending among Commerce City’s road projects is the widening of Chambers Ave, with a $3.5 million price tag. Another is the intersection of 120th Ave. and U.S. Highway 85 using a $9.6 million grant for railroad crossings. 

Dino noted the city now has grant writers, and they should be pursuing more grant opportunities because the clock is ticking for federal money that is funneled through the Bipartisan Infrastructure law & Inflation Reduction Act. 

If the city still has American Rescue Plan dollars, they need to be spent — soon — because it goes away at the end of the year. 

“Spend it before it goes away,” said Dino.

A number of council members said they are frustrated with the RR crossing at 120th and 85, citing long trains from BNSF that hold up traffic for hours. 

Council member Sean Ford believes that the reason the railroad doesn’t try to make the train length shorter because, “They’re lazy about it. They just don’t want to break up the trains.”

Whether or not these projects get funding depends on Congress and that we need to “keep our fingers crossed that Congress ultimately agrees on this fiscal year 2024 bill,” according to Dino.