Golden Sues Feds Over Easement For Toll Road

DENVER (AP) -- Golden has filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government's granting of a 300-foot swath of land through the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant for a toll road that would cut through town.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service didn't do a thorough job in evaluating the environmental impacts of the proposed Jefferson Parkway. Golden is also challenging the service's denial of its application for the same swath a land that the city says it wants for a bike path.

The Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority says the road, which would complete a ring of highways around the Denver area, would ease congestion and advance development, but Golden supports expanding existing roads instead.

Authority officials did not immediately return messages.

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