GREELEY, Colo. — The City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution authorizing a change order of approximately $1,296,000 to expand design work at the US-34 and Weld County Road 17 intersection so the project can reach a 30% interchange design and satisfy Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) planning steps.

Council discussion: Councilor Heidi Butler asked staff why the change order was necessary and what budget it would draw from. City staff explained the contract was originally scoped to improvements and basin work; as the catalyst project and the 1601 process with Weld County advanced, the city amended the work to fund engineering to a higher design level (30%) to support future right-of-way acquisition and the interchange selection process.

Funding: Staff said the additional $1.296 million would come from transportation impact fees. Paul (city staff presenter) explained that about $700,000 of the original contract funds had been expended and the change order reflects the additional design scope needed to reach the 30% milestone. Staff also said project partners — including Weld County and others involved in the catalyst development — will share costs over time.

Why it matters: City staff said completing a 30% design is necessary to pursue CDOT’s FER (final environmental review/early right-of-way) steps and to keep the overall schedule for a 2028 interchange construction target, which the city views as tied to broader development timing in the area.

Action taken: Councilor Butler moved to adopt the resolution; Councilor Olson seconded. The council approved the change order on a 6-0 roll call vote.

Next steps: Staff said the 30% design work will allow right-of-way acquisition to proceed and will be followed by a procurement process for later-stage delivery (staff discussed design-build vs. construction-manager/GC options), with additional budget requests possible as the project moves to final design and construction.