Northern Colorado Gazette

WELD COUNTY, CO –  With big plans ahead for CR 49, also known by locals as the Keenesburg cut-off, county officials are asking residents for help in coming up with an official name for the road.

It is a road known by several names among those who drive it – the Keenesburg cut-off, Kersey Road – it is a truck route and a bypass to U.S. 85.Regardless of its name one thing has become clear in recent years, Weld County Road 49 is a vital transportation corridor between north and south Weld County.

Those who live in the area have noticed an increasing number of traffic since the 1990s and because of this; the road is slated for major improvements throughout the next several years. Along with these improvements the county would like to designate the corridor with an official name.  Weld County and the communities along WCR 49 are asking for the public’s ideas and suggestions regarding renaming the road.

The communities located along the corridor, Kersey, Keenesburg, Hudson and Weld County, have recognized the traffic increase on WCR 49 over the past decade and have initiated discussions through the WCR 49 Access Control Plan Technical Advisory Committee. The group consists of staff members from all four communities and meets monthly to discuss not only the present-day safety concerns regarding the road but also the future use and look of the road as it will continue to serve as a major corridor in Weld County.

The Weld County Transportation Plan projects the road will become  a four-lane road in the next 20 years, and will eventually extend both south of I-76 and north of US 34 to Highway 14.

In addition to the 2035 Transportation Plan, Weld County’s five-year Capital Improvement Program has identified three construction projects along the corridor. Currently, construction which is expected to be completed this summer is being done to complete  the realignment of the WCR 54. Next year, the county will improve the off-set intersection of WCR 44; and third, to be designed in 2013 and constructed in 2014, will be the intersection improvement of WCR 22.  All of these intersection improvements include the addition of turn lanes on WCR 49.

The scheduled improvements are expected to significantly impact Weld County and the surrounding communities along the WCR 49 corridor. The county feels that naming the corridor will identify it with a single official name and help unite the communities located along the corridor.

Those wishing to share your thoughts on a new corridor name and what the corridor means to them and their community are encouraged to send their ideas via email to jfinch@co.weld.co.us. or mail them to: Jennifer Finch, 1150 O Street, PO Box 758, Greeley, CO, 80632-0758. The sending emails should include CR 49 in the subject line. The deadline for suggestions is August 31, 2012.

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