US 34 Railroad Crossing Elimination Study
About the Study
US 34 is a critical east-west transportation corridor connecting several communities in Colorado’s Front Range. In 2023, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) became a recipient of the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program through the Federal Rail Administration (FRA). This grant directly funds eligible projects, such as US 34, to eliminate highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossings and is heavily focused on the improvements of safety and mobility of people and goods. US 34 was identified as a future freight investment need in the Colorado Freight Plan and current travel demand has necessitated these improvements to maintain its overall safety, efficiency and reliability.
Schedule & Important Dates
- Introduction to the project: February 2025
- Existing conditions report: April 2025
- Alternatives analysis report: April 2026
Study Location
The US 34 RCE study is located in northern Colorado along US 34 between Interstate 25 (I-25) and Weld County Road (WCR) 15. The Study is approximately two and a half miles long and the limits are from Larimer Parkway on the west to WCR 15 on the east. The study includes potentially improving two at-grade intersections, Larimer County Road (LCR) 3 and LCR1/WCR 13, and two at-grade railroad crossings with Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and Great Western Railway (GWR).
The study’s purpose is to identify existing roadway deficiencies and create several alternative design concepts that would provide safety and transportation improvements. The ultimate goal of this project is to propose an alternative that eliminates the at-grade railroad crossings along US 34. CDOT, with FRA guidance and approval, will design these alternative concepts based on the following improvement goals:
- Improve safety
- Enhance operations
- Improve opportunities for multimodal connectivity
- Accommodate local agency and regional planning efforts
- Increase resiliency
- Consider capital and maintenance costs
The completion of this Study will provide transportation improvement alternatives for the elimination of the two at-grade railroad crossings along US 34. These improvements would provide a safer and more reliable transfer of people and goods while also preparing for future travel demands. Study benefits include:
- Improving rail infrastructure to enhance rail safety
- Improving the health and safety of communities
- Eliminating highway-rail and pathway-rail grade crossings that are blocked by trains
- Reducing the impacts that freight movement and railroad operations may have on underserved communities
- Accidents at highway-rail grade crossings is the second leading cause of rail-related deaths in the United States (FRA 2024)
- More than 2,000 incidents and 200 fatalities at the at-grade crossings occur each annually (FRA 2024)
- Within the past year (October 2023 to October 2024), Colorado has had 541 reported incidents at blocked at-grade crossings (FRA 2024)
