Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) officials recently conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Central 70 Project, which seeks to improve mobility for commuters, businesses, and travelers to and from Denver International Airport.
“The Central 70 Project will give more options to the people of Colorado along one of the state’s most economically important routes,” Brandye L. Hendrickson, deputy Federal Highway Administrator, said. “This is a great example of the innovation America needs to build and maintain bigger, better and safer transportation infrastructure for 21st-century drivers.”
The $1.2 billion endeavor is the largest project undertaken by CDOT and is expected to be completed in 2022. It is funded with a $416 million loan from Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, $114 million in Private Activity Bonds allocated by DOT, and $50 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds from the Federal Highway Administration.
The work involves reconstructing 10 miles of I-70 between Brighton Boulevard and Chambers Road, adding one new Express Lane in each direction, connecting to managed lanes in the metro area, and adding intelligent transportation systems infrastructure.
The project will also remove an old viaduct, lower the interstate between Brighton and Colorado boulevards, place a four-acre park over a portion of the lowered interstate, and add bridges and connections in a neighborhood over I-70.