Screenshot of March 5 meeting at which City Council discussed moving forward with the 29 Road interchange project, even though it was resoundingly voted down at the ballot box just 4 months ago
Even though voters turned down the proposal to build a new interchange on I-70 at 29 Road in the November 5, 2024 election by a margin of 56.44% to 43.36%, a discussion of how to push forward with the project was on City Council’s agenda at their March 5, 2025 regular meeting. The proposal on last fall’s ballot asked voters to approve the City and County taking on $80 million in debt to fund the project, with a payback cost of $173,438,202.
At the time, the City’s finance manager told City council members at a workshop that the debt the from the project would “decimate city capital, basically.”
The City and County combined have already invested over $2 million in trying to make the project happen, and the City is now considering what to do with $800,000 remaining under a current design contract for the project.
Below are notes about the project from Council’s 3/5 regular meeting. Boldfaced emphasis was included by a person who lives on the 29 Road corridor and is following the project closely.
There is a link to watch the video of Council’s discussion of the interchange project at the end of the article:
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Grand Junction City Council Regular Session
Item #9a
Meeting Date: March 5, 2025
Presented By: Trenton Prall, Engineering & Transportation Director
Department: Engineering & Transportation
Submitted By: Trent Prall, Engineering and Transportation Director
Information
SUBJECT:
I-70/29 Rd Interchange Discussion and Possible Direction
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends completing the current Colorado Department of Transportation/
Federal Highway Administration approval process and then decide whether to advance
the design of the interchange and 29 Road with the congressionally directed spending
dollars previously awarded.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This agenda item is to discuss the I-70 Interchange at 29 Road in followup to the
February 24, 2025 Joint City Council /County Commissioner meeting.
BACKGROUND OR DETAILED INFORMATION:
On February 24, 2025 City Council and the Board of County Commissioners met in
Joint Session to discuss next steps associated with the I-70 Interchange at 29 Road.
Staff proposed the following:
1. Complete the current work associated with and obtaining Colorado Department of
Transportation (CDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval for the
proposed interchange and 29 Road connection between the interchange and Patterson
Road.
2. With the grant dollars received from the Congressionally Directed Spending,
advance the design of the interchange to 30% while advancing the design of 29 Road
corridor to 100% so that the City/County can plan for a phase of 29 Road improvements
that would meet current infrastructure deficiencies while a future phase would add
capacity to 29 Road and construct the interchange.
City Engineering & Transportation Director Trent Prall
CDOT’s State Transportation Commission approval would be sought early 3rd Quarter
2025 followed by FHWA later in the 3rd Quarter. Once the interchange is approved by
both entities, the City would issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a design
consultant to advance the interchange and 29 Road design. Assuming award in
December, the work would start in 2026 and be completed in 2027.
The approach outlined above seeks to secure the necessary approvals prior to any final
design work and development of any other funding strategies. One of the concerns
brought forward during the campaign was that CDOT/FHWA had not approved the
project and therefore there were too many unknowns to confidently state the project
cost. Obtaining the approvals would also completed this phase of the project and
would avoid rework of the supporting documentation as along as the project started
within the time frame allowed in the approval process. As currently written, approvals
are valid for three years with the possibility of two, one-year extensions.
Some council members expressed concern that a majority of the voters in November
were against issuing bonds for the project and therefore questioned why it would be
appropriate to continue work on CDOT/FHWA approvals and further any design work.
This agenda item is to discuss the current status, proposed path forward and for council
to provide direction on whether or not to continue the project.
BACKGROUND
An interchange at 29 Road has been identified since the 1990s in many local and
regional plans as a way to enhance local and regional connectivity, as part of a larger
plan to provide connections in and around Grand Junction. The proposed interchange
improvements, in coordination with other regional improvements, have been envisioned
to complete the transportation loop around Grand Junction, provide critical community
access, support economic opportunity, and enhance local and regional connectivity.
Some of the efforts to evaluate and further develop an interchange at 29 Road have
included the following.
1999 – Identified the need for an I-70 interchange in northeast Grand Junction
2018 – Studied the benefits and potential environmental impacts of a 29 Road interchange (PEL
Study attached for reference)
Positioned the City and County for future state and federal funding opportunities
2022 – Developed vision and goals for future design concepts with local governments
Built consensus and documented key issues and opportunities with business, school,
economic development, airport, and planning organizations
2023 – Analyzing and presenting potential interchange configurations for community input
2024 – System Level Study / Environmental documentation / Ballot Question
2025 – Complete system level study / seek CDOT/FHWA approvals / start final design
Continuation of these efforts is in process to complete the additional analysis
necessary, obtain CDOT/FHWA approvals, develop a preliminary design, and secure
funding for construction. The construction of the I-70 Interchange at 29 Road, and the
associated road improvements along 29 Road between I-70 and Patterson Road were
most recently estimated at $80 million. The City of Grand Junction and Mesa County
have a long history of working together to find solutions to fund a project of this
magnitude, which will most likely include the issuance of debt.
Red outline shows the holdings of N70 Tech LLC, the group of investors headed by Quintin Shear, that stands to benefit financially from the building of the 29 Road interchange. The names of the other investors have not been revealed.
PURPOSE OF PROJECT
The purpose of the project is to enhance the eastern Grand Valley transportation
network between the I-70 Business Loop East Interchange and Horizon Drive
Interchange to:
1. Improve local and regional connectivity
2. Provide enhanced access to planned land use surrounding I-70 in Grand Junction,
Colorado
PROJECT NEED
The proposed project will provide improved local and regional connectivity by:
• Addressing limited regional transportation network connectivity with access to/from I-
70 between I-70 Business and Horizon Drive interchanges, and;
• Extending the functional longevity of the existing transportation system connecting to
I-70.
It will also improve access to I-70 by:
• Providing transportation infrastructure needed to accommodate planned land use
surrounding I-70, and specifically, the future Matchett Park and the associated
Community Recreation Center, and;
• Providing transportation infrastructure needed to accommodate projected and regional
traffic demands.
FISCAL IMPACT:
As of 12/31/2024, the City and the County combined have invested over $2.2 million
since 2019 including $550k for the Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study
and $1.67 million for the Policy Directive 1601/Environmental Assessment work to
date. There is approximately $800k remaining under the current design contract to
make requested revisions, resubmit, and obtain project approvals through
CDOT/FHWA. The next phase of final design is estimated at $2.4 million with $2.0
million funded from congressionally directed spending award.
SUGGESTED MOTION:
I move to (authorize/not authorize) staff to continue to work in partnership with Mesa
County on the I-70 Interchange at 29 Road through CDOT/FHWA approvals and follow
up for additional direction on whether to proceed with the final design.
Attachments
None
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You can watch the video of City Council’s entire discussion here. The discussion starts at 3:42 into the meeting.
The county and city also have a very recent history of failing to uphold past commitments like OM Pool, and they’re unwillingness to work together on Costco. No more intergovernmental agreements should be made with this untrustworthy lot of republican county commissioners.
Just keep blaming the republicans…that’ll solve everything.
Wondering why we voted?
I voted no for this reason:
The financial plan is a complete no considering the regular old cabal that owns all the land to be developed around the interchange is fleecing the citizens !
No amount of “design work”will change my feelings – perhaps it will be needed at some point but it’s angering the City would treat the community so dismissively.
Talk about some “impact fees”!
This is a really good look at how government works. They figure they’re already into this (2 million?), so they should at least go ahead and get all the approvals.
I would imagine that anyone in state or federal offices would point out to the applicants that THE PUBLIC DOESN’T WANT IT.
But there a certian interested parties that see a glimpse of hope…so they are willing to spend more of the public’s money pursuing their dream.
The “environmental impact ” phase will provide an opportunity for the public to weigh in.
Well, putting them in charge didn’t fix anything, now, did it?
Looks like Trent Pall needs to get fired since he apparently doesn’t have anything useful to do.
GJ and Mesa County need a visit from DOGE.
Cuts from fed will result in cuts from state, that means we’ll have to fund 100% of this. City, county, haven’t got that message, have they. Makes no sense.