Peña Boulevard
Peña Boulevard is the main route from Denver to Denver International Airport (DEN). Maintained by the city of Denver, the freeway is not part of the Interstate or Colorado State Highway System. Beginning at Interstate 70, Peña Boulevard leads 11.57 miles northeast to the passenger terminal at DEN airport.
Peña Boulevard is named for the mayor who presided over the authorization to construct the facility, Federico Peña. Peña later went on to be a Secretary of Transportation for President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
A wye interchange provides high speed access from I-70 east to Peña Boulevard north 10 miles to Denver International Airport (DEN).
08/11/16
Peña Boulevard northbound overtakes Airport Boulevard north from 40th Avenue. A diamond interchange follows with Green Valley Ranch Road (former 48th Avenue).
08/11/16
Green Valley Ranch Boulevard heads west toward the Parkfield and Montbello neighborhoods and east to the sprawling Green Valley Ranch community.
08/11/16
The Denver International Airport (DEN) passenger terminal is nine miles north of the exchange with Green Valley Ranch Boulevard.
09/04/04
Peña Boulevard shifts slightly to the east to meet 56th Avenue in three quarters of a mile.
09/04/04
56th Avenue runs west along the north side of the Parkfield and Montbello communities to industrial areas of Stapleton in Denver.
09/04/04
East from the diamond interchange with Peña Boulevard, 56th Avenue continues to Green Valley Ranch and other development to the E-470 tollway.
09/04/04
Peña Boulevard crosses First Creek north of 56th Avenue. The DEN passenger terminal lies seven miles ahead.
09/04/04
Tower Road parallels Peña Boulevard north from Green Valley Ranch to converge with the freeway at the eastern turn away from Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
09/04/04
One half mile out from the diamond interchange (Exit 5) with Tower Road.
09/04/04
A cluster of hotels lines Tower Road just to the south of Exit 5 while off site parking facilities for the airport and a landfill are to the north.
09/04/04
An auxiliary lane opens from Tower Road east to the collector distributor roadway (Exit 6) for the E-470 tollway.
04/22/17
E-470 is part of the Denver beltway system, which consists of C-470 between Golden and I-25 at Lone Tree, E-470 north from Lone Tree to Thornton, and Northwest Parkway from I-25 west to near U.S. 36 at Broomfield.
04/22/17
All signs for E-470 (Exits 6A/B) were replaced by 2016 to use Clearview font. Exit 6A leads onto E-470 south to Interstate 70 at Gun Club Road through east Aurora.
04/22/17
Exit 6B loops onto E-470 north to Commerce City, Brighton and Broomfield.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard advances east from E-470 into Denver International Airport (DEN).
04/22/17
75th Avenue separates from Peña Boulevard eastbound to form a frontage road to Gun Club Road, Jackson Gap Street and an array of car rental facilities.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard passes by the Old Toll Plaza Administrative Building ahead of the Gun Club Road underpass.
04/22/17
Jackson Gap Road connects Peña Boulevard with E 75th Avenue to air cargo facilities at DEN Airport, rental car return and the Cell Phone lot.
04/22/17
A series of sign bridges precedes the partition of Peña Boulevard into ramps for Terminal East and West.
04/22/17
Jackson Gap Street stems south from E 78th Avenue into the diamond interchange with Peña Boulevard.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard continues east and then north to the Denver International Airport (DEN) passenger terminal.
04/22/17
The Blue Mustang sculpture appears between the east and westbound roadways of Peña Boulevard.
04/22/17
Four lanes separate from the east end of Peña Boulevard for Terminal West and three lanes for Terminal East.
04/22/17
The roadway to Terminal West.
04/22/17
Roadways from the DEN Airport passenger terminals converge along Peña Boulevard westbound.
04/22/17
A left exit connects Peña Boulevard westbound with Peña Boulevard east back to the DEN Airport passenger terminal.
04/22/17
Curving west, Peña Boulevard runs between the employee parking area and air cargo facilities for DEN Airport to the exit for Jackson Gap Street.
04/22/17
Jackson Gap Street heads north to E 78th Avenue and south to E 71st Avenue and distribution centers ahead of E 56th Avenue.
04/22/17
A diamond interchange connects Peña Boulevard with Jackson Gap Street.
04/22/17
Fast food and a gas station accompany the DEN Airport Cell Phone lot along adjacent E 76th Street.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard spans a section of Gun Club Road west at the exit ramp for E 76th Avenue.
04/22/17
The former toll plaza along Peña Boulevard is west of Gun Club Road.
04/22/17
Crossing Leaving Denver International Airport (DEN), Peña Boulevard crosses Second Creek ahead of a cloverleaf interchange (Exits 6B/A) with the E-470 toll road.
04/22/17
Exit 6B departs Peña Boulevard west below the RTD A-Line flyover. E-470 connects the airport with I-76 east to Sterling and Fort Morgan, U.S. 85 north to Brighton, and I-25 north to Fort Collins.
04/22/17
E-470 was built in stages through the 1990s and early 2000s to provide traffic relief for I-25 through Denver. The toll road was also the catalyst for rampant suburban expansion of the Denver metropolitan area to the east.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard provides a toll free route west to Interstate 70 in Denver. I-70 in turn provides the connection to Downtown Denver as well as the Denver Technology Center (DTC) via Interstate 225.
04/22/17
Ramps with E-470 tie into the westbound mainline of Peña Boulevard, unlike in the eastbound direction which utilizes a c/d roadway. E-470 runs 7.5 miles south to Interstate 70 at Gun Club Road in east Aurora.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard advances a half mile west from E-470 to Exit 5 for Tower Road.
04/22/17
The diamond interchange (Exit 5) with Tower Road was originally built without a westbound entrance ramp. The exit ramp from Peña Boulevard west was realigned to the new ramp built in 2017/18.
04/22/17
Tower Road extends north to Commerce City. Tower Road south serves lodging and other businesses catering to airport patrons as it parallels Peña Boulevard to Green Valley Ranch.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard curves south beside Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. The freeway ties into Interstate 70 in six miles, just east of I-225.
04/22/17
Downtown Denver is a 15 mile drive via Peña Boulevard to I-70 west and I-25 south.
04/22/17
56th Avenue meets Peña Boulevard just south of First Creek in one mile.
04/22/17
56th Avenue runs east to the Green Valley Ranch development and E-470 and west between Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR and the Parkfield and Montbello communities.
04/22/17
Connecting the Gateway and Green Valley Ranch communities, Green Valley Ranch Boulevard (old 48th Avenue) parallels 56th Avenue 0.75 miles to the south.
04/22/17
Entering the diamond interchange with 56th Avenue on Peña Boulevard westbound.
04/22/17
Exits for Green Valley Ranch Boulevard and 40th Avenue depart over the course of one mile before Peña Boulevard turns west onto Interstate 70.
04/22/17
Airport Boulevard stems south from the exchange joining Peña Boulevard with E 40th Avenue into the city of Aurora.
04/22/17
The diamond interchange with Green Valley Ranch Boulevard serves Parkfield to the west and the heart of the Green Valley Ranch development to the east.
04/22/17
A half diamond interchange links Peña Boulevard west with E 40th Avenue and Airport Boulevard south in a half mile. 40th Avenue serves an array of hotels and apartments to the west and distribution and warehouse facilities to the east.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard leads directly onto Interstate 70 west, while a Breezewood connection via Airport Boulevard south links with I-70 eastbound.
04/22/17
Airport Boulevard branches south from Peña Boulevard to Business Loop I-70/U.S. 40-287 (Colfax Avenue) along the Adams County line.
04/22/17
The final stretch of Peña Boulevard winds west one mile from 40th Avenue to Interstate 70 westbound.
04/22/17
Traffic from Peña Boulevard joins Interstate 70 westbound just ahead of the directional T interchange (Exit 282) with Interstate 225. I-225 is a belt route south through Aurora to I-25/U.S. 87 at the Denver Technology Center (DTC).
04/22/17
A collector distributor roadway separates from I-70 just west of Peña Boulevard for both I-225 south and Peoria Street. Peoria Street is an arterial that leads north into Montbello in Denver and south into the city of Aurora near the Fitzsimons Campus (former U.S. Army Garrison).
04/22/17
The right lane of Peña Boulevard defaults onto the c/d roadway for Interstate 225 south in one half mile. I-225 provides the most direct route to the southern part of the metropolitan area, Castle Rock and Colorado Springs.
04/22/17
Peña Boulevard ends within the diamond interchange (Exit 283) connecting I-70 with Chambers Road.
04/22/17
Interstate 70 stays north of Downtown Denver through Globeville, then travels west toward Wheat Ridge, Arvada and Golden before ascending into the Rocky Mountains.
08/11/16
Small guide signs direct motorists on Green Valley Ranch Boulevard to the respective on-ramps for Pena Boulevard.
08/11/16
Pena Boulevard doubles as a commuter route to Interstate 70 west from the Green Valley Ranch community.
08/11/16
Peña Boulevard links Tower Road with parallel E-470 just to the east.
04/22/17
Photo Credits:
- ABRoads: 08/11/16, 04/22/17
- Andy Field: 09/04/04
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Page Updated Thursday April 20, 2017.