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Go Inside The Lowered Section Of The Central 70 Project

DENVER (CBS4)- The Colorado Department of Transportation took CBS4 behind the scenes of the Central 70 construction project on Tuesday. The tour allowed for a sneak peek into the lowered section of Interstate 70 before it opens to drivers.

Central 70 Tour May 11, 2021
(credit: CBS)

The lowered section has a 1,000-foot cap with fans and sprinklers. The fans are there to help mitigate any sort of air quality issues as well as fires.

PHOTO GALLERY: Go Behind The Scenes Of The Central 70 Project

The area is divided into 10 zones for the sprinklers so they can be used in specific areas if there was a fire.

Central 70 Tour May 11, 2021
(credit: CBS)

There are also sensors to adjust the light inside the tunnels with the natural light outside.

"The whole goal is to have people drive through this and keep going. We do not want people stopping and taking a look at all these cool systems that we've designed to protect them, we don't want them checking them out, we want them to drive through the cover," said Central 70 Project director Bob Hays.

Central 70 Tour May 11, 2021
(credit: CBS)

To reach the goal of keeping drivers moving through the cover, CDOT is hosting a one-day exhibition on the new lanes on Saturday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be at the Northeast corner of 46th North Avenue and Brighton Boulevard and parking is available at the National Western Complex Lots J & K.

Registration is required for the CDOT Central 70 Project "More Than An Interstate"event.

The event will allow visitors to walk through the more than half-mile of the new lanes of I-70 and see how crews built the lowered section and new bridges above the interstate amid the I-70 viaduct before demolition this spring.

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