City of GJ to realign 22 Road

The city of Grand Junction is working to improve safety and traffic flow along the Highway 6 corridor.

Construction crews will be realigning the 22 Road and Highway 6 intersection by moving it 500 feet to the west.

A new connecting street will link Valley Court to 22 Road. Traffic will be able to access Highway 6 via the signalized intersection at 22 Road, eliminating the need for left turns out of Valley Court and improving safety, according to engineers.

Paul Jagim, project engineer for the city of Grand Junction, said lengthening the intersection spacing from the I-70 interchange ramps will improve both traffic safety and efficiency.

An immediate reason for the realignment project is to give city officials an opportunity to make room for two new truck stops being built in the area.

One proposed truck stop will be located on the north side of Highway 6 at the current 22 Road intersection; the other will be located directly across the highway on the south side, according to city officials.

Jagim said the intersection improvements will also help handle traffic through the year 2035, meaning the project should lay the framework for future growth.

"If we did nothing and we let development occur and truck stops to be built out there, we would start seeing congestion in that area," said Jagim.

"We want this to be a gateway to our community and allow visitors on and off of I-70 to get in and also to make it viable for trucks to get to the commercial area and the industrial area and back to I-70," added Jagim.

Construction is set to begin in March and expected to wrap up by late August. The city is paying close to $4M to complete the project.

An open house is scheduled for Tuesday, January 15 at the West Gate Inn from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The West Gate Inn is located at 2210 Highway 6 & 50.

City officials invite the public to attend the open house to voice their concerns or any questions they may have about the realignment project.

A separate CDOT construction project will also take place around the time the 22 Road realignment is being completed.

CDOT workers will be constructing a Diverging Diamond Interchange on I-70 at Exit 26.

According to a press release from the city, a Diverging Diamond Interchange eliminates left-hand turns by briefly shifting drivers to the left side of the road.

Traffic lights allow lanes to safely crisscross at an intersection, giving drivers direct access to the left-hand ramp before shifting the lanes back to their normal path.

This type of interchange is for higher traffic volumes and is relatively low in cost compared to other alternatives, city officials report. It's a concept that has been installed in 19 locations across the U.S. in recent years.

The Diverging Diamond Interchange is being designed by the city of Grand Junction and will be built by the Colorado Department of Transportation.