C-470 Expansion Project Begins As Highlands Ranch Residents Try To Block Plan
By Tom Mustin
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4)- Smiling politicians and shovels officially marked the start of the ambitious C-470 expansion project.
The 2½ year, $276 million project will add two express lanes on C-470 from Interstate 25 to Wadsworth Boulevard in Douglas County. More than 100,000 drivers travel bustling stretch of road sees more than 100,000 drivers per day. The traffic along the highway is expected to increase 40 percent over the next 20 years.
"For about 12-and-a-half miles we're going to improve the commute times for a lot of folks who rely on this road," CDOT Executive director Shailen Bhatt told CBS4's Tom Mustin.
Highlands Ranch resident Todd Ables lives 200 yards from C-470. He supports the Highlands Ranch Neighborhood Coalition that filed an injunction Wednesday to block the highway's construction. The major complaint: noise.
"When I'm out here playing with my daughter, you can seriously hear the traffic noise," he told Mustin. "When she's 10 feet away you can't even hear her."
Ables said the original expansion plan included noise barriers along the highway. CDOT dropped the barriers, after recent tests found they would not reduce noise traffic for Ables and his neighbors.
Independent coalition tests dispute that claim.
"It's the noise pollution, as well as when they double the size of the road you're going to see a lot more traffic and a lot more congestion," said Ables.
Bhatt said the road expansion is necessary to withstand Douglas County's population explosion. He welcomes the coalition's lawsuit.
"Go to court. We'll go through that process. if there's something we need to do additionally, we'll do it but we feel we've followed all the federal requirements," said Bhatt.
Meanwhile, Ables is hoping the lawsuit will convince CDOT that silence is golden, "At this point they need to step up and do them right thing."
The project also includes realigning curves and fixing bridges along the C-470 stretch. The expansion is expected to be finished by spring of 2019.
After CDOT answers the complaint, a judge will rule on the lawsuit.
Tom Mustin is CBS4's Weekend Anchor. He has been with CBS4 since 2002, and is always looking for great story ideas. Connect with Tom on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @TomCBS4.
