US 50 Safety/Operational Highway Improvements for Freight and Travel Passing Lanes | Study Phase
US 50 SHIFT Passing Lanes Industry Outreach / Information Virtual Meeting
Date: Nov. 17, 2025 Time: 11 a.m.
Visit the Public Engagement page for details.
About the Study
The US 50 Safety/Operational Highway Improvements for Freight and Travel (SHIFT) project consists of the installation of 12 individual passing lanes spread across five segments of the US 50 High Plains freight corridor between the urban center of Pueblo and the Kansas state line (Mile Point 317 to 467). Ten of the passing lanes are paired both eastbound and westbound along the same stretch of US 50, and two are independent in that passing lanes will be installed in only one direction. The project goal will be to provide safer passing opportunities for motorists.
Otero County and CDOT secured $40.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) fiscal years 2025 to 2026 rural grant program for a $72.5 million project. The remaining $32 million will be covered by Southeast Transportation Planning Region (TPR) Regional Priority Project (RPP) and 10-Year priority project funds
Schedule & Important Dates
- Study Start Date: Oct. 2, 2025
- Study End Date: July 1, 2029
The new passing lanes included in the US 50 SHIFT project will meet the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standard and improve travel reliability for personal vehicles, commuters, transit users, tourists and commercial freight to safely pass. Most notably, heavy agricultural equipment, trailers and tractors that frequent the Colorado plains.
Benefits will include:
- Significant reductions in the occurrence of accidents, injuries and fatalities
- Moderate travel times savings and operating costs savings
- Faster flow of traffic due to the introduction of passing lane
