Show me the stimulus!

For proof, we decided to take a look at transportation projects in Boulder County that benefited from the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the president’s $840 billion stimulus package meant to create jobs and shore up the economy. Colorado saw $533 million of that largess earmarked for its most enduring headaches: transportation issues. While much of it was spent on big-ticket items like $15 million toward reconstructing U.S. 287 between Campo and Hugo in Baca County—one of the state’s 28 high-priority transportation projects—a lot was also spent on projects that look pretty piddly in comparison.

YS took a sight-seeing tour to see what $10 million can buy these days. What it lacked in ooohs and aaahs was made up for by a newfound appreciation of just how expensive things that are taken for granted on a daily basis can be.

A case in point is a project many of our staffers drive past every day on the way to and from work, the 3 1/2 miles of Erie Parkway between I-25 and Bonanza Drive. Unless you’re a bicyclist, you might have never noticed the bike lanes on this stretch of road, which was widened and painted over a few months in 2010 to accommodate them. Total cost: $607,000, or $173,447 per mile. That sounds like a lot of money, but Erie Mayor Pro Tem Cheryl Hauger said it was less than the Colorado Department of Transportation thought it would cost.

“It was more costly than I’d anticipated,” she said, “but it did come in under the CDOT estimate.”

Also more costly than might be expected is a traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 36 and North Broadway, where the road goes north toward Lyons—it cost $393,000, about twice what a standalone stoplight typically costs. But this intersection is funky, explained Boulder Transportation Engineer Joe Paulson, angled in a way that caused a lot of confusion for drivers when traffic was controlled by stop signs. Back then, the Colorado Department of Transportation tried to make it easier to turn onto 36 from Broadway by painting guides on the street. Those had to come off when the new signal was installed and the lanes repainted to be less confusing.

At the intersection of Spruce and Folsom in Boulder is a bit more of an eye-grabber, which it’s actually designed to be: a median bedecked with flashing lights to protect pedestrians and cyclists crossing the street. Cost of the street improvements: $318,270. Not getting run down in the street: priceless.

Other ARRA funds have been used for regional transportation improvements, including funds for adding bus lanes to U.S. 36 and money for new buses that connect Fort Collins with Longmont along the FLEX route.

Standing out as the most unique use—or nonuse, actually—of ARRA funds is the town of Nederland. Granted nearly half a million dollars to construct sidewalks along portions of Second Street, Jackson Street and Colo. Highway 119, the town did something that most towns offered free money rarely do. It turned it down and sent it back. Residents were divided about whether the sidewalks were needed and where they should be located. In this case, the only thing recovery funds stimulated was debate.

In the end, Nederland decided to do without.

Projects:

Location: 22 miles of U.S. 36 between Lyons and Estes Park.
Project: Chip-seal
Pricetag: $1,679,863
ARRA contribution: $1,652,568

Location: Main Street in Lyons between 3rd and 5th.
Project: Streetscaping enhancements; paving, curb and gutter improvements; landscaping and pedestrian amenities
Pricetag: $1,256,156
ARRA contribution: $689,000

Location: SH 119 between Eldora and 2nd in Nederland.
Pricetag: $805,000*
* Project scuttled, money returned
Project: Sidewalks and connections to RTD parking
ARRA contribution: $385,000

Location: Mineral Road over Boulder Creek at County Line Road, northwest of Erie.
Project: A new bridge
Pricetag: $5,060,426
ARRA contribution: $4,987,205

Location: On the north and south sides of Erie Parkway.
Project: Bike lanes from Erie to I-25
Pricetag: $607,066
ARRA contribution: $607,066

Location: The intersection of North Broadway and U.S. 36.
Project: A new stoplight
Pricetag: $393,304
ARRA contribution: $386,913

Location: Spruce and Folsom in Boulder.
Project: Bike/pedestrian crossing signals, medians and surface treatment
Pricetag: $318,270
ARRA contribution: $318,270

Location: Two zones within Boulder, generally northeast of 30th and Arapahoe and southeast of Baseline and Foothills Parkway.
Project: Improved pedestrian sidewalk ramps and street treatments to meet ADA guidelines
Pricetag: $757,624
ARRA contribution: $757,624