Shake, Rattle And Roll
Denver Promises Its 16th Avenue Stormwater Project Will Bring ‘Shock And Awe’
Story and photos by Cara DeGette
GPHN Editor
For eight months, people living near Colorado Boulevard and Colfax have endured — with no prior warning — living smack dab in the middle of a constant construction zone.
Their streets were ripped up. Huge metal plates covered massive holes, creating uneven, slippery, dangerous surfaces. Sidewalks, including a just-installed ADA-accessible sidewalk, were dug up and then plugged with temporary filling. Access to and from homes has been dodgy. Bulldozers left tire marks across lawns. Landscaping and sprinkler systems were damaged.
Random holes, trenches and construction debris created hazards. Mounds of dirt, 30-feet long and 4-feet tall, were left uncovered for long periods of time, blowing dust and pollution around the neighborhood. Workers left plastic bottles and cigarette butts and other trash behind. At least two trees were killed, one more than 50 years old.
And that was just the first part of a project to install a massive new stormwater sewer pipe, designed to alleviate occasional intense flooding in the southwest area of Park Hill.
Remove fragile items from walls
At an Oct. 22 meeting at Carla Madison Recreation Center, Matt Fariss, a project manager for the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, termed what will happen next as “shock and awe.”
“You guys mentioned the construction you are going through and I will be blunt, it is nothing compared to what you are going to be going through,” Fariss told a group of about 20 neighbors. “Basically I will be digging a 20-foot-wide trench 20 feet deep right down the middle of your street.”
Beginning in March, the city will begin work on the 16th Avenue Stormwater project, a $10 million project to install a massive pipe under Albion Street between 17th Avenue Parkway and Batavia Place, turning east on Batavia Place to Clermont Street. In the future, the city plans to continue the pipe east and south for several blocks.
The excavation will require bringing in equipment that is taller than houses that line the narrow residential street. Vibration levels will likely be intense — so much so that residents are encouraged to remove fragile items from walls and have a structural engineer inspect their properties beforehand if they are concerned about structural “deficiencies.”
Water and sewer lines will be moved. People will not be able to access their driveways or park in front of their homes, sometimes for weeks and maybe even months.
Once installed, the underground pipe — 9 feet in diameter — would be large enough to drive a small car through, if cars drove under the street. It is designed to carry water that would otherwise flood through neighborhood streets during intense downpours.
Happened out of the blue
As detailed in last month’s Greater Park Hill News, the first part of the project involved Xcel Energy moving the gas lines underneath the streets in the area roughly between 17th and 16th avenues and Albion and Bellaire streets. Most impacted neighbors reported they received no prior notification. Workers and equipment just showed up one day this March.
And for eight months — five months longer than the project was supposed to last — the bulldozers and cones and no-parking signs and debris littering the area remained. (Xcel and its subcontractor, Sitewise, blamed the extensive delays on supply chain problems.)
An Xcel project manager said neighbors were informed of the work via door hangers — a claim that was flatly rejected by 32 of 35 impacted residents who insisted they received no such notice. Though Xcel was tearing up the city’s sidewalks and streets to accommodate a city infrastructure project, Fariss said that the city had no obligation to notify residents regarding that portion of the work. Xcel, he insists, was supposed to do that.
Several residents were frustrated after months of repeated efforts to contact their city councilman, Darrell Watson. Finally, two neighbors, Lauran Williamson and Patty Paul, met with Watson at the end of September. It took them two months to get on his calendar. (The Greater Park Hill News also attended this meeting.) When Williamson and Paul described what was happening on their block, Watson said it was the first he’d heard of the project. And he vowed to do better.
Constant construction
On Oct. 22, Watson hosted the community meeting at Carla Madison, attended by Fariss and other city staff, and an Xcel representative. The latest final deadline for Xcel to finish the gas line was Nov. 8; the company finally completed the work nearly a week after that deadline.
In late November, the city released its latest timeline to install the new stormwater pipe. The project is currently out to bid, and Fariss estimates that a contractor will be in place by the end of February. The work is expected to begin in March and last at least through next December. In the meantime, Denver Water is also currently at work in this section of Park Hill, moving and replacing water lines.
For residents of Albion Street and surrounding blocks, an already long year living in a construction zone is stretching into another. And, as Patty Paul, Lauran Williamson, their neighbor Belinda Nelson and others on the block have noted, that timeline aligns with the expected arrival of another massive nearby construction project — the Colfax Bus Rapid transit project.
Part 1 of this story, Nightmare On Albion Street, appeared in last month’s Greater Park Hill News. It can be read at greaterparkhill.org/nightmare-on-albion-street/. Check back in coming months for updates and continued coverage of the city’s East 16th Avenue stormwater project.
What About Emergencies?
A List Of Unanswered Questions, Ongoing Concerns
In mid-November, neighbors in the impacted area, still recovering from the near-constant disruption from the eight-month gas line project, prepared a list of their ongoing questions and concerns. Several are outstanding issues with Xcel; others are directed to the city’s planned stormwater project. Here are a few:
General To Xcel
• How will the company restore damaged sprinkler systems, damages to landscaping and other property?
• We need specifics about when and how killed and damaged trees will be replaced.
• What recourse or compensation do we as property owners have?
General To City
• Regarding the massive mounds of dirt left uncovered in the streets: Wind blows the dust around, including in our homes and all over the neighborhood. Is this a violation of the city’s air pollution code? What will be done to alleviate the dirt and air pollution during the next phase(s) of the project?
• We need more information about the intensity of the vibration from the construction, and what the risks are to the foundations and structure of impacted homes.
• How will residents be notified about work being done on their streets on an ongoing basis?
• How will residents be notified when their streets will be closed?
• How do we find out where city easements are on our property (other than tree lawn)?
• Who will enforce ordinances/codes?
• Who is the city contact at the forestry department for concerns about trees?
• Who is the city contact for concerns about air and noise pollution?
• We need better clarity on access to homes and alleys. How will emergency vehicles access if needed, including ambulances and firetrucks?
• How will delivery trucks get through?
• What about those in the neighborhood who work from home and will experience ongoing disruptions? What is their recourse?
• We need a better understanding about rights as homeowners/taxpayers.
Direct Line To The City
Denver Sets Up Website, Hotline, Email
The city plans to send out postcards to impacted neighbors with updates on the 16th Avenue Stormwater project. A hotline, project website and email contact have also been set up. Here are the details:
Project Webpage: 16thavestorm.com
Project email: info@16thavestorm.com
Sign up via this email to receive weekly construction updates. Residents can also use this email with questions and concerns.
Hotline: 720-627-7441
Text or leave a message for the stormwater team at this number. Once the work begins, residents can call for recorded weekly updates at this number.
Community Meeting: The city plans to hold a meeting with updates in March, 2025, location to be determined.
Coffee with the Contractor: Once work gets underway, residents will be able to meet with the contractor at regular intervals to ask questions and voice concerns.