There is, perhaps, not a more I’m-on-public-transit-in-Denver experience (other than taking a rail line to some highway-adjacent park-and-ride) than sitting on a traffic-stalled 15L bus on east Colfax Avenue.

The Regional Transportation District and the city and county of Denver have long-term plans to make that ride a whole lot speedier by dedicating an entire lane to buses in each direction of Colfax between downtown and the Aurora border. Buses would join regular traffic to the Colfax light rail station on Interstate 225.

The governments announced Tuesday that they’d asked the Federal Transit Administration to let them join a grant program that could ultimately lead to up to $100 million to keep that project moving. It’s a key part of the city’s overarching goal of enabling more people to move by methods that aren’t their personal vehicles.

“Colfax BRT spotlights Denver’s and the region’s commitment to improving public transportation and moving more people in our community to jobs, healthcare, and other opportunities, all of which keep Denver a great place to live,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a press release.

Driving will become more difficult on Colfax itself, but more frequent and speedier transit service is meant to make up for that. RTD says buses would run every five minutes during peak times and every 10 minutes during off-peak times. Stations would be spaced about a third of a mile apart.

Denver has raised $55 million for the project through the Elevate Denver Bond, which voters approved in 2017. The overall price tag could be between $200 million and $300 million in 2021 dollars, RTD’s letter to the FTA says. That’s significantly higher than the $168 million estimate Denverite reported in 2017.

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