Interstate 270

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Interstate 270 through Adams County, Commerce City and Denver comprises an urban loop linking I-25 and U.S. 36 (Denver-Boulder Turnpike) with I-70 at the Stapleton area in northeast Denver. The original section of I-270 ran southeast from Interstate 76 for 5.986 miles to I-70. The extension west to U.S. 36 added another 0.923 miles.

The freeway serves industrial areas west of the South Platte River and southeast along Sand Creek through Commerce City. Together with Interstate 76, I-270 also provides a bypass of I-70 across north Denver, including the Mousetrap Interchange with I-25 at Globeville. U.S. 36 overlaps with the route southeast to I-70, but is not acknowledge per Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) signing conventions. The east end of I-270 also serves the Stapleton development located off Quebec Street and Central Park Boulevard, where Stapleton International Airport was formerly located.

Interstate 270 Colorado Guides

Construction was underway for Interstate 270 by December 12, 1965 and the first section opened between U.S. 6/85 (Vasquez Boulevard) and I-70 on August 2, 1968. The original route was completed on October 23, 1970, when a two mile segment opened west from U.S. 6/85 to Interstate 80S (now I-76). A trumpet interchange joined the two freeways at the terminus.

Even after Stapleton Airport closed in 2005 in favor of the new Denver International Airport (DEN), Interstate 270 remained an important connector route through Commerce City. Work on the western extension of Interstate 270 to U.S. 36 and Interstate 25 commenced in April 1993. The ramp from I-270 west to I-25 north opened in September 1999, with the full connection to U.S. 36 finished in February 2000. The eastbound lanes were completed from U.S. 36 (Denver-Boulder Turnpike) to I-270 on August 16, 2003. A flyover from I-25 south to I-270 east followed in November 2005.1


Sources:
  1. Interstate 270 - 50th Anniversary of the Interstate System. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

    Page Updated 05-12-2017.

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