Jefferson Parkway - Denver Metro Area

[andy3175]

http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/broomfield-news/ci_24824399/jefferson-parkway-pushes-slowly-forward-year-after-courtroom

(Map is available at link.)

It was a year ago that the Jefferson Parkway and its future viability found itself caught up in a fast-paced, nail-biting federal court battle over a controversial land swap on acreage near Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge just south of Boulder County.

The waning days of 2012 saw a flurry of federal court rulings on the proposed swap, designed to secure a crucial right-of-way for the parkway. First, a federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit against the complex $10 million deal, a ruling that was eclipsed a few days later by a federal appeals court's decision to place an injunction on the swap.

The appeals court reversed itself less than 24 hours later and affirmed its new ruling the following day.

The swap – which involved the trading of a 617-acre parcel near the southwestern corner of the refuge, known as Section 16, for a 300-foot-wide transportation right-of-way that runs parallel to Indiana Avenue – set the stage for the building of the 10-mile-long tollway connecting Colo. 128 in Broomfield to Colo. 93 in Arvada.

But a year later, the parkway still isn't close to breaking ground, even though its backers say everything is moving along as it should. Now that the major legal challenges have been settled, Bill Ray, interim director of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, said the highway could be up and running by the end of 2017.

"It's ambitious, but it's not impossible," Ray said of the timeline.

The $200 million segment would nearly complete the beltway around Denver, which is made up of C-470, E-470 and the Northwest Parkway.

Opponents of the roadway, which include Superior and Golden, say the Jefferson Parkway is a bad idea because it's not needed and would clog local roads with cars that aren't there now. They also contend that the road's construction could stir up plutonium left behind by the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons manufacturing plant.

But proponents of the parkway say the road is critical for future economic development and an efficient way to move people through the northwest quadrant of the metro area. They cite a letter written by officials with the EPA and Colorado's health department in late 2011 stating that the risk of excessive cancer incidence for people who work at the refuge is below standards set by the state and the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.

Ray said 2014 would be the year to clear environmental hurdles at the points where the Jefferson Parkway would intersect with state highways 128, 72 and 93. He also said the authority would like to get closer to a pre-concessionaire agreement with Madrid-based Isolux Corsan Group to finance, design, build and operate the new toll road.

Regards,
Andy

[Milepost61]

I'll believe it when I see the bulldozers.