Crews Will Tackle Central 70 Project In Phases
DENVER (CBS4)- If you take a trip on Interstate 70 east of downtown Denver, you know it may take a while.
On Friday the Colorado Department of Transportation broke ground on a massive improvement project for the area to keep traffic moving and unite neighborhoods previously separated by the interstate.
The 10-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Brighton Boulevard and North Chambers Road is one of the most congested areas of the interstate.
It will be under construction for the next four years.
The project boasts lane widening, a toll lane and an underground section of highway. So, what does all of that construction mean? CDOT has a plan to avoid a traffic nightmare by dividing the project into three phases, each with its own objectives and timeline.
The first phase is from Peoria Street to Interstate 270.
Rebecca White, the Director of Communications for the Central 70 Project, says initially drivers will notice the first phase the most.
"That will be where you see some of the first work actually. The contractor will take traffic and squeeze it to the middle so they can start to work on the outside," White said.
The next section is from I-270 to Colorado Boulevard. The aging I-270 flyover will be completely rebuilt and the interstate will be stripped to the dirt and rebuilt from the ground up- literally.
"So that's a pretty significant set of work," said White.
Crews will work to keep I-70 open during the day but anticipate overnight and weekend closures.
Work on Stapleton Boulevard will begin this fall, but drivers probably won't notice until spring 2019 when the work moves to I-70. That work should be completed by 2020.
The final phase is the section from Colorado Boulevard to Brighton Boulevard. That includes the viaduct which will be torn down to make way for an underground section.
Work starts in the fall to dig the trench, but 2020 is when traffic will be diverted and the viaduct will come down. This is where the bulk of the work must be done and it's going to take a while to complete.
"They're not done with this piece until 2022 so that's where the four years of work really occurs," said White.
The final phase of the project is to create a park on top of what will be underground lanes. The hope is that it will reunite the Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods that is cut in half by the viaduct.
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.
