Imagine a 6,267-foot-long (1,910-meter-long) bridge at the end of its useful life, crumbling. Yet, it still serves as an economic backbone for the State of Colorado, carrying major, daily traffic—over 220,000 vehicles a day—in the middle of a low-income and minority community in northeast Denver. This bridge, known as the Interstate 70 (I–70) viaduct, is located in a zip code known as the most polluted area in the Nation. How can these transportation issues—infrastructure deterioration, gridlock, and environmental hazards—be solved? More specifically, how can they be solved while providing the historically underserved communities with the same benefits afforded to everyone else utilizing the highway facility?

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) decided to collaborate with the affected neighborhoods to find a solution. CDOT, in an unprecedented manner, worked closely with the local community to understand, from their perspective, how to address the major concerns. After 14 years in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process (between 2003 and 2017), with countless hours spent evaluating different alternatives, CDOT developed a mitigation plan with the surrounding community that would ensure that they would have equitable access to the benefits offered by the highway improvements. Ultimately, CDOT committed to replacing the I–70 viaduct with a tunnel and a 4-acre community park built over the interstate.

Project Background and Community Impacts

CDOT’s plan eventually evolved into the Central 70 Project, which involved:

• Rebuilding a 10-mile stretch of I–70 between Brighton Boulevard and Chambers Road.
• Adding a new toll express lane in each direction.
• Removing the aging, 57-year-old I–70 viaduct.
• Placing a portion of the interstate in a 1,000-foot (305-meter) tunnel.
• Creating a 4-acre public park over a portion of the tunnel.

To implement these improvements and upgrades, CDOT worked with many stakeholders to understand and address concerns. Most notably, the agency worked with the residents of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea (GES), two low-income, minority neighborhoods negatively impacted by the I–70 viaduct’s construction in the 1960s. Given the history, these communities opposed widening the interstate; some GES residents wanted I–70 completely removed from the area.

“They came through neighborhoods, tore neighborhoods up, [and] divided neighborhoods. [They] ended and destroyed businesses and the livelihoods of many people without apology or without engagement,” says current Mayor of Denver Michael Hancock, referencing highway construction’s history of perpetuating racial injustice. Hancock believes it is important that neighborhoods impacted by transportation projects have a loud voice.

CDOT embraced the loudness in carrying out an unprecedented outreach effort to the surrounding communities. The outreach process was designed to be personal and extensive; it began at a one-on-one level and expanded to bring together the many interests in the corridor. A variety of opportunities were made available for the community to get involved and stay informed about the project, including:

• Hiring residents from nearby neighborhoods to help share project information.
• Using flyers to notify residents and local businesses of meetings to discuss the project.
• Conducting door-to-door outreach as a first contact in many neighborhoods.
• Holding block meetings within neighborhoods.
• Attending neighborhood association meetings and business meetings.
• Conducting neighborhood and larger corridor-wide meetings.
• Providing translation, childcare, and meals at meetings.
• Establishing working groups to address specific issues.
• Involving the media in a proactive manner.
• Meeting frequently with local and State elected officials.

Other outreach activities included creating, publishing, and distributing newsletters, mailings, and advertisements; publishing a website; and organizing monthly meetings with community leaders, telephone town halls, and public sit-down meetings (with small tables for exchanging information with participants).

Despite a unique outreach effort by CDOT to reach as many members of the surrounding communities as possible—and after the project’s initial Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was published in 2008—the message from the community was clear: It wasn’t acceptable to simply widen the existing interstate in their back and front yards. If CDOT was going to be successful in addressing Colorado’s transportation needs, they had to take a step back to rethink the entire situation.

With the communities unsatisfied with the levels of mitigation offered, CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration remained determined to better understand the impact of the Central 70 Project on the communities. The two government agencies agreed they needed to establish a process that brought the community leaders to the table alongside other project stakeholders to exchange ideas more effectively. The result was the creation of the I–70 East Preferred Alternative Collaborative Team (PACT). The PACT involved a group of stakeholders representing Federal and State agencies, local governments, and community and business interests. At the conclusion of this planning process (after meeting monthly for over a year), CDOT agreed to consider replacing the I–70 viaduct, lowering it underground, and building a public park over the interstate. CDOT also decided to establish a job program and continue to incorporate community feedback into the project construction. Although there were still some that wanted I–70 relocated, this concept, called the partially lowered alternative, garnered enough support from residents for CDOT to move forward in the NEPA process—an FHWA-led review process to ensure transportation agencies consider potential impacts to the social and natural environment when planning highway projects.

A supplemental DEIS was re-issued by CDOT in 2014, adding the alternative to replace the elevated interstate structure with a lowered interstate roadway. CDOT then began to work on finalizing their preferred alternative and exploring more options for effective mitigation. In 2017, each of the mitigation concepts were finalized as commitments in the Record of Decision (ROD)—the final step in the environmental NEPA process. In August 2018, at the groundbreaking ceremony, then-FHWA Deputy Administrator Brandye L. Hendrickson noted that “the Central 70 Project will give more options to the people of Colorado along one of the State’s most economically important routes.”

Mitigation: New Community Park

Building a public park on top of a roadway was a novel project for CDOT; having never done it before in Colorado, CDOT wanted to first gather lessons learned from other States. FHWA provided such help via their Technology Transfer (T2) Program that aids in implementing innovation at the Federal, State and local levels. CDOT was awarded a T2 grant and worked with the FHWA Colorado Division to facilitate a trip to Washington State and Texas. The two States previously constructed covers over their interstates and parks on top of them to benefit the adjacent communities. With these trips, CDOT and local officials, including community members, were able to talk with other State and local officials about their experiences with collaborating with community members. They were also able to talk with engineers to understand lessons learned and best practices in addressing elements common to this type of project (e.g., drainage, utilities, and security).

Ultimately, with the expertise and knowledge gained from feedback and exchanges, CDOT designed and built the park to unite the Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods, split by the I–70 viaduct’s construction on opposite sides of the roadway. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in November 2022 marking the completion of the I–70 viaduct renovations. The newly created public space will feature a small amphitheater, a splash park, a sports field, play areas, more than 100 new trees, and room for farmers’ markets and community events. The park will be instrumental in enhancing community cohesion and connectivity. A sentiment shared by Denver Councilwoman Debbie Ortega: “Working collaboratively with the State and local partners, we were able to achieve unprecedented commitments to the community, including the park that is opening here today.”

Colorado Governor Jared Polis spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and was proud of what came to fruition: “It’s really one thing to have seen this drawn on paper years ago, it’s another to be standing here with a field on one side, an amphitheater, and a state-of-the-art playground on the other side, really seeing the power of community and the power of connectivity.”

Mitigation: Hiring Individuals from Local Communities

Another clear message from meeting with the surrounding communities appeared: if CDOT was investing over a billion dollars on the estimated 5-year construction project—further disrupting the community’s quality of life—residents wanted access to the high-paying construction jobs that were sure to accompany the renovations. Hence, CDOT requested a local hiring and workforce development program for the project from FHWA. Though local hiring preferences are not typically allowed per Federal requirements, FHWA was willing to pilot the program to provide employment opportunities to the surrounding communities bearing the brunt of construction.

Utilizing funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Ladders of Opportunity initiative, CDOT, in 2016, partnered with the Community College of Denver’s (CCD) Center for Workforce Initiatives to establish an overarching workforce program called WORKNOW. This program specialized in placing, retaining, and advancing workers on the Central 70 Project (as well as on future regional infrastructure projects). Through various outreach events and partnerships, CDOT, WORKNOW, and CCD were able to catch the attention of a local private foundation, Gary Community Investments. The foundation invested nearly $2 million into the workforce development program that mitigated barriers to employment, such as the affordability of personal protective equipment, transportation, and childcare. Unlike the I–70’s original construction, community members could financially benefit and establish careers through the Central 70 Project.

To date, the Central 70 employment training program has proved to be a huge success. Over 600 individuals have completed the training program, and CDOT exceeded their on-the-job training goal of 200,000 hours.

Mitigation: Tolling Discount Program

A common concern from all parties, including CDOT, was how to build toll lanes through a low-income area without excluding the area’s residents in having equitable access to the new lanes. To address this issue, a commitment to add a discount program was added into the NEPA ROD. When the project was nearly two years from being completed, the High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE), a government-owned business within CDOT, embarked on a year-long process to fulfill the commitment and provide discounted access to the toll lanes for the GES neighborhoods. HPTE, now known as the Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO), has the legal responsibility to seek out opportunities for innovative and efficient means of financing and delivering important surface transportation infrastructure projects in the State.

The discount program included significant engagement with peer agencies nationwide, including FHWA, the GES community, and other local stakeholders. With equity and the environment being key focus areas for the Federal government, FHWA Colorado Division frequently communicated with their Office of Environment to keep them informed throughout the program’s development.

Like the park’s construction above the I–70 tunnel, this initiative was the first tolling discount program in Colorado. CDOT first reached out to five agencies around the country that had implemented, or were implementing, a similar toll program and collected best practices and lessons learned. This exchange of knowledge provided CTIO with an intellectual foundation for developing its tolling discount program.

A short time later, CTIO established a steering committee and stakeholder advisory group to guide the process. Numerous meetings were held with the steering committee, stakeholder advisory group, GES residents, and Denver City council members. A public survey was also circulated to residents to solicit feedback and gain an understanding of the community’s needs and travel patterns. The survey was particularly successful, garnering almost 300 responses. The survey responses along with the information from interviews conducted with the five agencies (State departments of transportation, counties, and a metropolitan planning organization) and information on the committee meetings can be found in CTIO’s “Central 70 Globeville & Elyria-Swansea Tolling Equity Program Memorandum” (https://www.codot.gov/programs/ctio/agenda-item-documents/2022-agenda-item-documents/march-2022/5-central-70-ges-tolling-equity-program.pdf).

Finalizing the details of the discount program (such as deciding the discount program eligibility requirements, ideal type of discount program, program funding structure, and program length) took significant effort. After nearly a year-long effort of collaboration, CTIO developed a program with the following two main highlights for participants:

• Free in-vehicle transponders (devices that automatically charge for road use) with a $100 credit to express toll accounts the first year.
• For future years, the option of free transit passes or additional credit applied to express toll accounts (a split based on input provided by GES residents).

Transit passes from the Regional Transportation District—metro Denver’s transit agency—would be provided to the community. CTIO also coordinated with local organizations to become distribution centers to create accessible locations for eligible residents to pick up passes. Eligibility requirements include being a resident of GES with an income below the 200 percent Federal poverty level household income threshold (an exception is granted for any displaced household members due to the Central 70 Project). Approximately 5,623 GES residents were eligible for the program, corresponding to just over half (53 percent) of all households in these communities. Funding for this program will come from CTIO’s commitment to dedicate 15 percent of the net toll revenues from the Central 70 toll managed lanes.

Mitigation Goals Met

Although it took a significant amount of time and resources, CDOT was successful at meeting their critical infrastructure goals by listening and establishing partnerships. When a construction project affects the lives of those in surrounding communities, it is necessary to spend the time to understand the surrounding communities’ perspectives on those impacts and engage them in the development of mitigation plans. Similarly, learning from and listening to State and Federal agencies, city and county governments, and local organizations should also be intuitive. CDOT did all these things to such a high degree, and the outcome is a world-class I–70 facility not only for use by more than 220,000 vehicles a day, but also for use by the communities that have the interstate in their backyard. For these communities, the new I–70 facility reduces noise and dust pollution and restores connectivity and community cohesion. “We can’t turn back time and change the fact that a highway was built through the middle of this neighborhood, an emblem of how infrastructure was built in the 1950s and 1960s,” says Stephanie Pollack, former acting administrator of FHWA. “But we can be very clear moving forward. The purpose of transportation must always be to connect and not separate. And faced between the choice of wallowing in the mistakes of the past and making new choices in the present for the future, we must choose to build our infrastructure with the intention and impact of connecting our communities.”

Shaun Cutting, a licensed professional engineer, is a program delivery team leader with the FHWA Colorado Division Office and holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Union College.

For more information, see https://www.codot.gov/projects/i70east.