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Transportation

Highways

Metro Denver has made significant improvements to the region's transportation infrastructure in the past decade. From development of the area's beltway and toll roads (C-470, E-470, and the Northwest Parkway), to completion of the $1.67 billion T-REX Project (Transportation Expansion Project), Metro Denver is continually expanding its highway system to efficiently move people and goods.

The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for transportation projects in the region. DRCOG works with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to prepare transportation plans and programs.

Colorado launched a website dedicated to the state's transportation projects to be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The site contains detailed information about all ARRA projects the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) manages including a project description, amount of ARRA funds dedicated to the project, project status, and photos.

T-REX

During construction, T-REX was the nation's largest multimodal project. The $1.67 billion expansion was financed primarily through Federal Highway Administration grants and existing transportation budgets, and did not require new or increased taxes in Metro Denver. T-REX added 19 miles of light rail and improved 17 miles of highways and bridge infrastructure in southeast Denver, connecting the region's two largest employment centers – the Denver Tech Center and Denver's Central Business District. Construction began in 2001 and finished in November 2006, on budget and two years ahead of schedule.

Metro Denver's Beltway

Three quarters of the beltway around Metro Denver has been completed to date (C-470, E-470, and the Northwest Parkway):

  • Construction began in 1982 on C-470, the first portion of Metro Denver's beltway. All three phases of the 26-mile transportation project, extending from I-25 in the southern Metro Denver area to I-70 near Golden, were completed by 1990. The Northwest Corridor Environmental Impact Study (EIS) by CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration will consider completion options for the final link of Metro Denver's beltway from the Northwest Parkway to C-470/I-70 near Golden.
  • The 47-mile E-470 toll road runs along the eastern perimeter of Metro Denver, extending from state highway C-470 at I-25, running east then north along the western edge of Denver International Airport, terminating at I-25 on the north end of Metro Denver just south of 160th Avenue. The first E-470 segment opened in 1991, the second in 1999, with the final leg completed in 2003.
  • The Northwest Parkway toll road, completed in 2003, seamlessly connects with E-470 at  I-25, and with U.S. 36 and State Highway 128 in Broomfield.

Helpful links:

  • Traffic.com - Denver traffic and road construction reports
  • CoTrip.org - Colorado road/weather conditions and highway info.