Mesa County, Colorado – The Regional Transportation Planning Office (RTPO) has initiated a key Transportation Finance Study to address the challenges of maintaining safe, reliable, and financially sustainable roads. On December 9, the Board of County Commissioners approved a contract with Fehr & Peers, a nationally recognized transportation planning firm, to conduct the study. The effort is fully funded by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The study comes in response to pressing issues in Mesa County’s transportation system, including sharply rising costs for operating Grand Valley Transit and maintaining local roads, a high rate of traffic fatalities that ranks among the worst in Colorado, and a funding gap where needs exceed available grants from federal and state sources.
RTPO Director Dana Brosig highlighted that while residents desire expanded transit and safer roads, the county has not previously formally gauged community support for specific improvements. Commissioners emphasized the importance of centering safety in future planning and noted that the study will help position Mesa County to compete for additional federal transportation dollars with data-backed priorities.
The study is set to begin soon and is expected to take less than a year to complete. Once finished, the findings will be presented publicly to the Board of County Commissioners and the community and will be used to inform future transportation planning decisions.
Full Mesa County study contract PDF: