Weld County to Help LaSalle Address Safety Concerns on Main St

Published on August 10, 2018

Wednesday the Board of Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding and a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) agreement which will help alleviate safety concerns on main street in LaSalle.

“This is an exciting day for Weld County and particularly the LaSalle community,” Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer said. “Working with our Public Works Department, residents of LaSalle and Union Pacific Railroad, I’m proud that we’ve been able to come to an agreement which will increase safety and efficiency for anyone traveling through LaSalle.”

The town of LaSalle is applying for a $750,000 DOLA grant, which is being matched by Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), to alleviate congestion on main street. Due to trains regularly stopping on the tracks and blocking the street, traffic is delayed for an indefinite amount of time. The delays prevent residents from efficiently moving through town, negatively impact school buses on their routes and can be a significant hindrance to first responders in an emergency.

The county’s contribution to the improvement project will be the design and construction of a connector road which will extend county road 39 between county roads 50.5 and 52 so that people east of the railroad tracks will have a secondary option to get through town.

Addressing safety concerns has been a goal of both boards for over 25 years. Starting last September, discussions took place with Weld officials, LaSalle officials and UPRR about how to resolve the issue. Additionally, an open-house was held, and residents expressed the need for improvements to be made.

“This is a great example of what can happen when we all work together,” Kirkmeyer said. “We’ve wanted these improvements for a long time. I’m happy to have been able to facilitate a resolution to this safety issue.”