Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez joined Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Monday, Oct. 24, to officially open Denver’s Interstate 70/Central Park Boulevard Interchange designed to improve safety for this area’s many pedestrians and cyclists.
“This is the kind of long-term investment we need to strengthen our economy,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The American Jobs Act will continue these gains by expanding highway investment, putting more people back to work and more money in the pockets of working Americans.”
The Central Park Boulevard Interchange includes a new bridge that crosses I-70 and provides direct access between the growing Stapleton area and major interstates I-70 and I-270. A 12-foot sidewalk on both sides across the interchange, well-lighted pedestrian walkways across the bridge and specially designed ramp intersections at both ends will help improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
The $50 million project near Stapleton relies on $12 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and $8.5 million in additional federal dollars. The Better Denver Bond Program funded the project’s remaining $30 million. Construction began little more than a year ago.
“The jobs this project created helped put people to work and bolstered Denver’s economy,” Mendez says. “In addition, by providing safer access for pedestrians and cyclists, this project will improve the quality of life and reduce fuel consumption for all those who use this interchange.”
The new Central Park Boulevard Interchange will serve an estimated 18,000 daily drivers, and nearly double that amount by 2035. According to FHWA estimates, 228,000 daily drivers rely on I-70, a figure estimated to climb to 330,000 over the same period.
