The I-70 East Record of Decision (ROD) has been completed. A copy of the ROD is available on the Reports page.
This ROD is the final step in the NEPA process for the I-70 East Project. The ROD explains the decision, identifies the alternatives considered, and outlines what actions CDOT will take to mitigate potential impacts of the project.
The ROD provides final approval for the first phase project (the Central 70 Project) to move forward to construction.
With the completion of the NEPA process, the Project moves to the next phase. All future updates on the project can be found on CDOT's Central 70 website at: central70.codot.gov
What is CDOT's Plan for Drainage for the Partial Cover Lowered Alternative?
The design of the Partial Cover Lowered Alternative requires a comprehensive and independent drainage system to address water from two sources. Read the Drainage Fact Sheet.
What would moving the interstate mean to the local street network?
Impacts to local streets is one of the primary reasons CDOT determined that rerouting I-70 is not a reasonable alternative. Up to 75,000 vehicles per day would travel 46th Ave (Colorado Boulevard-like volumes). The adjacent street network would see huge volume increases as well, as shown in the map:
This Record of Decision (ROD) is the final step in the NEPA process for the I-70 East Project. The ROD explains the decision, identifies the alternatives considered (including the environmentally preferred alternative), and outlines what actions CDOT will take to mitigate potential impacts of the project. The ROD is a legal and binding document that provides final approval for the first phase project to move forward to construction.
The first phase project (the Central 70 Project) includes improvements to an approximately 10-mile stretch of I-70 East from I-25 to Chambers Road, adding one new tolled express lane in each direction, removing the aging 50+-year-old viaduct, lowering the highway between Brighton Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard, and placing a four-acre cover over a portion of the lowered highway. All mitigation commitments listed in the ROD must be funded and implemented as part of the Project.
With the completion of the NEPA process, the Project moves to the next phase. All future updates on the project can be found on CDOT's Central 70 website at central70.codot.gov. Project updates will no longer be added to the www.i-70east.com website, however historical information will remain on the site.
Future email updates will be sent from [email protected]. Please send an email to [email protected] to receive updates or ask questions about the project. If you are already receiving email updates on the Project, it is not necessary to sign up again.
CHANGING LANES Preserving Community in the I-70 East Corridor
CDOT has funded the creation of a documentary covering the history of I-70 East and its relationship to the Elyria and Swansea and Globeville Neighborhoods.
As the I-70 project enters the final stages, several important milestones remain. The next critical step is for the Federal Highway Administration to issue a Record of Decision (ROD), which concludes the 13-year environmental study process. The ROD is now scheduled to be signed in winter 2017. This new schedule allows CDOT additional time to address comments received on the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
The timing for selecting a contractor and beginning construction will be moved out as well to follow the revised ROD timing. Construction is expected to begin in 2018. Click for the latest schedule update.
The Right-of-Way team will be onsite and available to provide property-related information and answer your questions at the new office. For more information on the schedule and staff availability see: I-70 East/Central 70 Project and Right-of-Way Office
The project team has temporarily canceled the first and third Wednesday extended evening hours at the I-70 East/Central 70 community office. Evening hours will be started again after the first of the year. In the meantime, please contact us with any questions or requests for information:
'duct-work Event: A Celebration of the I-70 Viaduct
The aging, unsightly I-70 viaduct spanning from Brighton Boulevard to Colorado Boulevard will be coming down ... but not quite yet. As part of the I-70 East/Central 70 Project, CDOT is proposing to demolish the viaduct and lower this portion of the interstate below ground. Until then, there is plenty of time to celebrate, mourn, discuss and activate this hidden landmark.
Denver Arts and Venues, together with local sponsors, provided funding for a group of local urban artists to paint murals under the I-70 viaduct between Brighton Boulevard and York Street. From September 27 through October 1, the 'duct-work event transformed the dark and shadowy viaduct into a work of art for the remaining years before its demolition.
The community was invited to see the transformation and join in the fun on October 1, 2016. The artists were on site to complete their work while hundreds of visitors stopped by to watch the transformation take place. Local vendors chatted with community members and offered their own art projects. Music filled the air as the once dark and dingy I-70 viaduct became a gallery of beautiful street art for the 8,500 vehicles who pass through the area each day. Kids even got a chance to practice their urban art skills on a wall set aside just for them.
The art will be available for the community to enjoy until the viaduct is demolished for the construction of the I-70 East/Central 70 Project.
Local Hire Program and New Funding for Job Training
CDOT will provide training and set hiring goals to enable hundreds of local residents to work on the reconstruction of the I-70 corridor from Brighton Boulevard to Chambers Road, an unprecedented workforce development program supported, in part, by a recently announced $400,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
As part of the I-70 East/Central 70 project, members of the project team will be in the community performing a variety of field survey functions. They will be easily recognizable by the I-70 East project identification tags they will be wearing. They will be using various types of surveying and monitoring equipment to identify the location of utilities and other notable land features.
If you have any questions or in the event you believe that any I-70 East project personnel inadvertently entered property other than the public right-of-way, please notify Lee Lovell at Atkins at 720.475.7090. Please note that any concurrent activities by the personnel of the public utility companies are beyond the control of I-70 East project team.
Make sure you have the right information about your property and CDOT
CDOT has been notified by concerned residents that individuals have been going door-to-door in the neighborhood with materials on the I-70 East/Central 70 project. If you have any questions on whether or not the person approaching you is from CDOT, please ask them for their project identification tags. Please note that the badges now include both the I-70 East and Central 70 logos.
If you have questions about your property and the CDOT process, please contact Tawana Kelly, Real Estate Specialist, at 303.757.9846 or [email protected].
CDOT began the acquisition of properties for the I-70 East project in the fall of 2013. The residential properties in this first phase have now been acquired and the occupants have been relocated into permanent replacement housing. In addition, each property has been cleared of asbestos and any hazardous materials. For the safety of residents, we will soon begin demolition of these residential properties. At any given time, there will be several residences in various states of demolition.
If you have any questions or concerns about these demolitions, please call 303.757.9413 and leave a message.
I-70 East Corridor Project: Creating a Better Future
This video features the structural, safety and congestion challenges the I-70 East Corridor Project currently faces between Brighton Boulevard and Tower Road in Denver, Colorado. It presents a solution developed by CDOT and the community.