Comment Period Closes on I-70 East DEIS

If you haven’t commented yet on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the I-70 East corridor, today’s your last day. Find commenting instructions and a full copy of the DEIS online at http://www.i-70east.com/.

Judy has been involved in this project almost as long as she has been in office, working with the Colorado Department of Transporation (CDOT), the City of Denver, and neighborhood leaders to maximize the benefits of rail and highway improvements in the I-70 East Corridor in District 9. Much of her energy has been spent on changes to I-70 as it runs through the District 9 neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria/Swansea. The highway currently runs on a viaduct that is more than 40 years old and is in poor condition — a prime example of our nation’s need to rebuild infrastructure. That stretch of road has to be rebuilt soon, before the viaduct crumbles.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to do this type of project without a certain amount of disruption. Inevitably, neighborhoods have to be inconvenienced in a construction project of this magnitude. Judy and her staff have worked their tails off to protect the neighborhoods in District 9 and ensure that the impacts are as small as possible.

Based on that objective, with respect to the upgrades to I-70, Judy supports Alternatives 4 and 6 as outlined in the DEIS — both of which would divert I-70 north from its current location to about 56th Avenue for a distance of roughly 0.8 miles. Of all the feasible options, Alternatives 4 and 6 impose the least impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Specifically:

• they displace the lowest number of homes
• they displace lowest number of businesses
• they eliminate the need to relocate Swansea Elementary School
• they have the shortest construction times
• they open up development opportunities for the neighborhood along 46th Avenue

Both options do have some degree of impact, but that’s unavoidable in a project of this size in the heart of a major city. The key for Judy is to ensure that the impact is as small as possible. Alternatives 4 and 6 do that.

One of the rejected alternatives in the EIS process was the idea of running I-70 below grade through District 9 in a tunnel. CDOT ruled this option out in 2005 for a whole range of reasons, including cost, security, safety, and environmental impacts. CDOT revisited the issue again in 2007 and came to the same conclusion: a tunnel would create more problems than it would solve. The tunnel idea remains popular among some residents in District 9, but Judy accepts and relies upon the expertise of the transit professionals who have prepared the DEIS — and they long ago ruled out the tunnel idea.

Among the viable options, Judy supports the one that imposes the least impact on District 9.