Pena Boulevard: What to improve?

[thenetwork]

For the first time in many many years I had the opportunity to drive Pena Boulevard (freeway) all the way into DIA.  I was surprised at the volume of traffic that uses that freeway.  I was also surprised on how "substandard" the overall highway is, IMHO.  I know that the road was wholly built and is maintained by the city of Denver, and not CDOT, but now that the freeway has been around for 20+ years, I think Pena needs some major facelifting:

- The highway can definitely use a 3rd lane from I-70 to where it starts expanding near DIA/E-470. 

- Some of the bridges between Tower Road and I-70 are very narrow (some bridges have the shoulders closed for "construction", or safety reasons, yet there is no work being done) and should be widened.

- There is no rhyme or reason on the signage (fonts, colors, advance signs, etc...).  The final split between the East & West Terminals looks like signage seen in Toronto -- Big blue signs with large fonts -- yet nothing else matches it.  There should be a complete signage upgrade with mileage-based exit numbers from I-70.

- Speaking of exits, I know the freeway is designed primarily for Airport traffic only, but exits like Tower Road should have on and off access from all directions.  With all the lodging facilities at Tower and Pena, why don't they have an on-ramp to Denver-bound Pena from Tower Road?   

-  They should work with the state and convert Pena Boulevard into a CDOT owned & operated highway, at least from I-70 to E-470.  And while they are at it, they can still call it Pena Boulevard, but it should have a route number -- either an I-x70 or C-x70 designation -- with trailblazers from nearby surface streets.  If CDOT really wants to be daring, they could extend I-225 north along Pena, once it's up to interstate standards. For those at the Tower Road hotel area, there are no guide signs to help drivers get from the hotels to Pena Blvd West/South or to I-70 via Tower Road or 56th St/Pena.

- The RTD Rail line, which will connect DIA to Downtown Denver, paralleling much of Pena Boulevard is looking nice as it is nearing completion.

Overall, Pena is due for some major rehabbing &/or changes.  Is there anything that is in the planning stages??  Is there anything I missed?

[iBallasticwolf2]

Not anything official but I would like to see the E-470 and Pena Boulevard Interchange upgraded to a cloverstack or at least a C/D lane added on E-470 north.

[jakeroot]

A couple things that have always stuck out to me in regards to Peña Blvd:

1) The name. For some reason, just the surname "Peña" is too little, and Blvd is misleading. I'd personally change the name to Federica Peña Freeway, or Highway
2) The roadway design. The diamonds look really funny to me (particularly Tower Road...it's ramps are hilariously far away from the freeway) and the cloverleaf at E-470 just seems really old-fashioned. As well, the median is excessively wide. Unless they plan for this to be a 20-lane freeway, a good Jersey Barrier is enough to block traffic. How much did the ROW cost? Oh, and the freeway looks like something laid out in Sim City: straight lines connected by 90 degree corners. This applies to E-470 through the area as well.

[thenetwork]

Another Pena oddity:

56th Street esst of Pena is a wide 4-lane divided boulevard...UNTIL it nears Pena when 56th drops to 2-lanes as a sorta Super 2.  The area near Pena should be 4 laned as well. 

[brad2971]

For the first time in many many years I had the opportunity to drive Pena Boulevard (freeway) all the way into DIA.  I was surprised at the volume of traffic that uses that freeway.  I was also surprised on how "substandard" the overall highway is, IMHO.  I know that the road was wholly built and is maintained by the city of Denver, and not CDOT, but now that the freeway has been around for 20+ years, I think Pena needs some major facelifting:

• The highway can definitely use a 3rd lane from I-70 to where it starts expanding near DIA/E-470. 

• Some of the bridges between Tower Road and I-70 are very narrow (some bridges have the shoulders closed for "construction", or safety reasons, yet there is no work being done) and should be widened.

• There is no rhyme or reason on the signage (fonts, colors, advance signs, etc...).  The final split between the East & West Terminals looks like signage seen in Toronto -- Big blue signs with large fonts -- yet nothing else matches it.  There should be a complete signage upgrade with mileage-based exit numbers from I-70.

• Speaking of exits, I know the freeway is designed primarily for Airport traffic only, but exits like Tower Road should have on and off access from all directions.  With all the lodging facilities at Tower and Pena, why don't they have an on-ramp to Denver-bound Pena from Tower Road?   

•  They should work with the state and convert Pena Boulevard into a CDOT owned & operated highway, at least from I-70 to E-470.  And while they are at it, they can still call it Pena Boulevard, but it should have a route number -- either an I-x70 or C-x70 designation -- with trailblazers from nearby surface streets.  If CDOT really wants to be daring, they could extend I-225 north along Pena, once it's up to interstate standards. For those at the Tower Road hotel area, there are no guide signs to help drivers get from the hotels to Pena Blvd West/South or to I-70 via Tower Road or 56th St/Pena.

• The RTD Rail line, which will connect DIA to Downtown Denver, paralleling much of Pena Boulevard is looking nice as it is nearing completion.

Overall, Pena is due for some major rehabbing &/or changes.  Is there anything that is in the planning stages??  Is there anything I missed?

With regard to the missing on-ramp to outbound Pena Blvd, that's the result of a non-compete clause with E-470. Which has not only since expired, but the missing on ramp will also be added by the end of 2016. It's a project funded by the city of Commerce City, which is also widening Tower Rd north of Pena Blvd.

As for CDOT taking over Pena Blvd, the city and county of Denver is going to want more than just a mere road swap. Bear in mind, in the last 2-3 years, Denver paid to have Pena Blvd resurfaced in concrete from north of 56th to near the E-470 interchange.

[triplemultiplex]

I had assumed they were going to put the light rail to DIA in the median as Denver was building that system out, but nope; new RoW.   What the hell happened there?

[thenetwork]

Most of the DIA/East Rail Line in the Pena area is on undeveloped vacant land and will be more beneficial in the future if and when that area gets built up.  Along the I-70 corridor it shares existing railroad ROW mostly along Smith Road.  It's not a bad route as many state it will take the same amount of time, if not a bit quicker, to go between DIA & Downtown Denver (Union Station/LoDo) by rail than by freeway.

That will especially hold true when the I-70 rebuild east of I-25 will commence.

They did extend the I-225 Rail Line along a good chunk of the median when they widened/rebuild I-225, with a few crossovers for some stops away from the freeway.  That line will terminate at the East Line south of I-70 between I-225 & Old Stapleton.  I think originally the I-225 line was also to go to DIA to serve as a straight shot from the Tech Center to the airport, but if demand is there, it looks like it's doubtful that it could easily share the tracks with the East Line in the future as the rail cars between the lines are totally different -- the DIA line uses higher voltage and AC Power to run those trains vs. the lower voltage DC-powered trains elsewhere on the system.

It (I-225 Line) looks mostly completed, though I recently traveled that freeway at night.  Definitely a better ride than what I-225 used to be in the 4-lane days.

[andy3175]

-  They should work with the state and convert Pena Boulevard into a CDOT owned & operated highway, at least from I-70 to E-470.  And while they are at it, they can still call it Pena Boulevard, but it should have a route number -- either an I-x70 or C-x70 designation -- with trailblazers from nearby surface streets.

Agreed. I have always thought that the freeway link from I-70 to the airport should be incorporated into the Interstate Highway System as a spur to the airport. This should help enhance navigation and ensure motorists that the road from I-70 to the airport is freeway standard. But to do this, many of the changes you suggested above would need to be implemented.

[usends]

I-225 Line looks mostly completed...

RTD is saying the "A" line (commuter rail from Union Station to DIA) will open in Spring 2016. 
The "R" line (light rail continuing north of Nine Mile along 225, connecting to the "A" line near I-70) is slated to open in Winter 2016.

[thenetwork]

I-225 Line looks mostly completed...

RTD is saying the "A" line (commuter rail from Union Station to DIA) will open in Spring 2016. 
The "R" line (light rail continuing north of Nine Mile along 225, connecting to the "A" line near I-70) is slated to open in Winter 2016.

Perhaps the areas of the "R" line away from I-225 are still a work in progress or are just getting to get built, but from what I saw along I-225, much of the major work was completed during the rebuild & widening of the freeway.  Any additional work on the rail line in this section should not involve any significant lane closures or construction zones on I-225 for any extended period of time.