Planners Propose Partially Subterranean I-70 in North Denver
The current proposal for reconstruction of elevated Interstate-70 is the culmination of years of struggle by residents of Denver’s Elyria neighborhood, but a call for renewed study likely means the politically-charged saga will continue. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is beginning to take written and e-mail public comment on the proposed modifications from six to twelve lanes, which include four toll lanes, and a four-lane 46th Avenue. The final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is due later this year.
While not exactly the tunnel residents of the north Denver neighborhood have been seeking for the last decade, the latest CDOT “preferred alternative” is what’s called a “Partial Covered” option. The existing elevated section which splits Elyria would be rebuilt below ground level and be covered between Columbine and Clayton Streets. The highway also passes through the Swansea and Globeville neighborhoods, crossing the northern part of the city. The project would impact a 2-mile stretch of I-70 between the Brighton and Colorado Boulevard exits.
A diverse group of Denver residents, including Frank Sullivan of Park Hill, thinks CDOT hasn’t considered all the alternatives. Sullivan says there needs to be a supplemental study which includes the possibility of re-routing I-70 northward along I-270 and I-76, out of the Elyria, Swansea, and Globeville (ESG) neighborhoods. Up to now, CDOT has rejected this notion.
Years of study nearing conclusion
CDOT’s current “cut and cover” proposal is highly significant because it represents final official recognition of the tunnel idea. CDOT, the Regional Transportation District (RTD), and other governmental agencies have spent up to $20 million in studies, plans and EISs relating to the highway and mass transit. During the lengthy deliberations, property values have declined by an estimated $5 million based on comparable sales from 2004, the peak of the housing market in the north neighborhoods of Elyria, Globeville and Swansea.
It wasn’t until 2010 that RTD decided on the location of its north Denver train station near the Stock Show grounds. The City still hasn’t agreed to an extra bend in Brighton Boulevard, supported by the neighborhood to calm industrial traffic separating the residential Elyria from the actual commuter rail stop.
Even though some aspects of the Elyria 2020 Vision Plan done by the Elyria Neighborhood Association and signed by 480 residents – such as a partially elevated structure for toll lanes and local access – are still omitted, the overwhelming majority of the neighborhood vision adopted in 2006 is now in the official drawings.
In spite of neighborhood support, Sullivan claims there has been too much focus on figuring out how to re-build the highway instead of finding alternatives to “get (the highway) out of the neighborhood.” According to Sullivan, CDOT turned down the re-routing idea as “too late and too expensive.”
As early as 2006, the Elyria Neighborhood Association (ENA) called for redevelopment of the existing Stock Show grounds. But discussions and studies of moving the National Western facilities to Aurora complicated the highway planning. CDOT and the city can now move forward after the Stock Show has agreed to stay near its consumer base in central Denver, as predicted by ENA.
In CDOT’s proposed reconstruction, a ground-level “cover” would reconnect the neighborhood and include space for amenities such as parks, playgrounds and community gardens. According to CDOT, this approach has “received major public support during public meetings” so far in over a dozen public meetings. Two former governors considered suggestions to re-route the highway and Gov. John Hickenlooper may have encouraged CDOT to adopt the partial cover option through his CDOT appointee, Don Hunt, a former real estate developer.
Strong thoughts on both sides
“Nobody is suggesting there is political motivation,” Sullivan comments. “There really is no rift among strong Democrats who express varying degrees of support. But ultimately, this is a regional issue, and the governor is responsible [for the final decision]. I’m disappointed that Gov. John Hickenlooper and Mayor Michael Hancock have said they are ‘too busy’ to talk to those of us proposing further study.”
By resolution, delegates of Denver’s Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) consortium endorse the proposal for additional study. INC’s membership represents about half of the city’s Registered Neighborhood Organizations (RNOs).
The United Community Action Network (UCAN) of Metro Denver, an RNO, unanimously adopted a statement in May, declaring: “This would seem to be an ideal opportunity for Denver and CDOT to reverse past mistakes (of putting the highway through ESG) and rise to find a solution for the 21st century, enlightened by a new vision of urban planning and transportation.”
City officials involved
At times, the highway redevelopment planning pitted residents of Elyria, Swansea, and Globeville against 9th District City Councilwoman Judy Montero in some highly rancorous situations. Montero rejected the neighborhood vision plan, staunchly and continuously opposing an underground highway. She later backed a proposed realignment of I-70 through the middle of the neighborhood, convincing Public Works and Planning to accept her idea, with 72 comments from Denver staff in the 2009 DEIS and not one of them mentioning the conflict between the proposed realignment and the North Metro RTD station. The realignment would have added 6 miles to the highway and isolated the RTD commuter rail station planned for the Stock Show.
In what Elyria residents claim was retaliation for ENA’s I-70 tunnel perseverance, Montero also supported the Parks and Recreation Department’s plan to put Elyria’s Anna Louise Johnson Recreation Center under private operation. The new operation resulted in elimination of the recreation center’s athletic teams.
Responding to the neighborhood criticism, Montero issued a statement for Greater Park Hill News:
“I respect and value the residents of Elyria-Swansea neighborhood and will continue to work toward the greater good of these communities. We are currently involved in several City of Denver initiatives, including the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood planning process and the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative. I am committed and working hard to ensure the city is balanced, responsive and putting the well-being of the neighborhood residents as a main priority.”
Montero cites her commitment to “social equity, cultural relevancy, environmental sustainability, and economic revitalization” as guiding principles for “moving forward in Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea.”
Mayor Michael B. Hancock, whose North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative initiative is focused on ESG and River North redevelopment, is scheduled to present his “State of the City” speech on July 15 at Forney Transportation Museum, at 4303 Brighton Boulevard, next to the Coliseum in the Elyria area.
Collaborative approach brings frustration
Because of the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) deadlock, CDOT hired Keystone Center to facilitate a two-year “collaborative process” with about 40 stakeholders to pick between the two options forwarded in the original DEIS. The Keystone Process was inconclusive because of a lack of consensus.
Frustrated by perceived rejection and lack of response from city government, the ENA disbanded in 2012. The group’s 2020 Vision lives on, now adopted by CDOT, RTD, the National Western, and Denver city government. Some residents, however, still express resentment that none of the millions of dollars in planning efforts have actually made their way back to the neighborhood.
In May, 2012 CDOT officially dusted off the tunnel idea and presented it to the public. For a year it has been tweaked and fussed over. The neighborhood, while ambivalent about the $1.3 billion project, largely supports it as a vast improvement over the existing conditions. It will keep freeway access close-in for north Denver and provide good access to the new commuter rail stations at 41st and Fox, 38th and Blake, and 48th and Brighton, while bowing to local environmental conditions with clear local protections provided by lowering and enclosing most of the freeway.
As a side benefit, travelers from DIA will have a new gateway experience. Instead of being stuck on an elevated viaduct next to a dog food factory, the new highway will include art in the tunnel and an emerging climb from a concrete valley to view the transforming Stock Show complex, the Denver skyline and the Rocky Mountains just over the Platte River Greenway.
No harm seen in expanded study
Sullivan claims CDOT would not previously consider the re-routing idea, but a “totally objective study” by someone with a good reputation, such as the American Institute of Architects or the American Land Institute, might show “a better option.” He says the study would have to be requested and funded before either organization would do the work.
One major issue to be resolved would be ease of access for industrial warehouses and distribution centers currently located along I-70 just west of Colorado Boulevard. “I’m not an engineer or architect, but there should be some bright people out there who can figure out how to do this,” says Sullivan.
The final decision is bound to be controversial. Some cities have successfully put major interstate highways underground, most notably Boston’s “Big Dig,” the freeways under Kansas City, Kansas, and the network of subterranean transportation in Seattle. Sullivan adds that still other cities, such as Milwaukee and Omaha, have successfully relocated freeways away from congested urban areas. Motivated partly by an earthquake, San Francisco also moved a major highway.
The I-70 East DEIS is about to go to final stage after 11 years. Later this year, CDOT officially will present the “preliminary identification of the Preferred Alternative,” and begin public hearings. As proposed, actual construction would begin in early 2016 if funding is available.
Sullivan says re-opening the study, including a comprehensive Health Impact Assessment, would not likely delay the process significantly. “It will be a while,” he says. “Even after the decision is made, CDOT has to find the money, which is not currently available.”
CDOT says the latest proposal has broad public and official support, improves “safety and mobility,” and meets the needs and objectives of the project. In addition, according to CDOT, the proposed redevelopment “restores and enhances the community and the social environment.”
To view renderings of the plan, visit I-70East.com. Information on the Elyria Swansea 20/20 Vision Plan, their Neighborhood Plan, as well as the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative are available at www.denvergov.org. Dave Felice can be contacted at gelato321@aol.com. Tom Anthony, former longtime president of Elyria Neighborhood Association, can be contacted at supercab@earthlink.net. Councilwoman Judy Montero can be contacted at Judy.Montero@denvergov.org.