Improved 18 Road opens safer access to Mesa County’s outdoor destinations
Mesa County recently joined project partners and outdoor recreation users to celebrate the completion of improvements to 18 Road — a key access route to some of the County’s most popular public lands and recreation areas.
The project, which officially wrapped up this month after construction began in December 2024, improves access to the Desert Trails Special Recreation Area and the Bureau of Land Management 18 Road Campground.
18 Road is one of Mesa County’s most heavily used recreation corridors. It serves mountain bikers, equestrians, hikers, campers, off-road users and families heading out for a day on public lands.
Before the project, the road was gravel and often difficult to navigate during wet or winter conditions. Those limitations affected safety and access, especially during peak recreation seasons.
The project reconstructed approximately six miles of roadway, beginning north of the Government Highline Canal and extending to the BLM 18 Road Campground.
Key improvements include:
- A widened roadway measuring 32 feet
- Four-foot paved shoulders in both directions to improve safety for cyclists and equestrian users
- Improved drainage, including two new box culverts and additional replacements
- Better grading, stabilization, signage and striping
- Improved sight distance and safer access points to recreation areas
Mesa County secured a Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant in 2017 to help fund the project. FLAP grants are competitive and designed to improve transportation facilities that provide access to federal lands.
With more than 3,000 miles of countywide roadway to maintain, projects of this scale are only possible through special funding partnerships.
For Mesa County, the work reflects years of advocacy, planning and partnership focused on making outdoor access safer and more reliable for residents and visitors.
“This is a great example of Mesa County bringing federal dollars home to improve local infrastructure and outdoor access,” County leaders said during the event.
