The city of Grand Junction, Colorado, is moving forward with the design phase for a potential interchange and improvements on 29 Road. Officials stressed that the effort does not obligate the city to actually construct the interchange, which has been a point of contention with the community.
In 2024, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have authorized a bond to fund the interchange project, estimated at $80 million. Of that amount, $12 million was set aside for 29 Road improvements and expansion, while $68 million would fund the interchange itself.
Though the funding measure failed at the polls, the city is using $2 million in federal funding already allocated for design and engineering work. The city and Mesa County will each contribute $220,000 to leverage those funds, bringing the combined total to roughly $2.4 million.
That amount would bring design on 29 Road improvements to 100% completion. Another $1 million grant is pending through the Rural and Tribal Assistance Program, which would fully fund design work on the interchange. Without the grant, the city could still reach 30% design on the interchange with existing funding, according to officials.
According to city and county officials, community complaints are increasing as the county population rises. The road is part of a larger transportation vision that has been in the works since the 1980s, which would finalize a loop of roadways designed to reduce congestion and support growth.
Previous projects contributing to the loop include Riverside Parkway, the 24 Road expansion and two 29 Road bridges over the Colorado River and the I-70 Business Loop.
Current estimates from the Colorado State Demographer’s Office show the population of almost 163,000 increasing to nearly 200,000 by 2040 and 214,000 by 2050.
As those plans on the larger loop project have progressed, officials say maintenance on 29 Road has been delayed, leading to poor conditions and traffic buildup that now needs to be addressed.
The design phase will still plan for an interchange, an effort officials say is key for future readiness. However, other improvements to 29 Road could still move forward if funding is secured. These include widening the road to three lanes and adding multimodal and pedestrian improvements.
Grand Junction Public Works Director Trent Prall said that without the interchange, three lanes would be the likely direction of 29 Road improvements. That would leave the possibility open to expand the road to a five-lane arterial if the interchange is eventually approved.
Prall said officials could put the proposition back in front of voters within the next three or four years, at which point they would have completed designs ready. For the other planned improvements to 29 Road, the planning phase would take 12 to 18 months, according to Prall. The city would then determine where the project fits within the larger capital improvement plan.
State and federal reviews are expected to wrap up over the next year. The Colorado Transportation Commission is expected to consider approval in spring 2026, followed by formal Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval that summer. That timeline would put the project in a shovel-ready position for future funding, according to officials.
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