Project Background

Arapahoe Road Corridor Study, I-25 to Parker Road - Completed November 2007

The purpose of the Arapahoe Road Corridor Study was to identify and evaluate various alternatives to address access and mobility within the corridor, and to recommend the most appropriate set of actions that best addresses local and regional travel needs well into the future. The study area included the I-25/Arapahoe Road interchange. This study was conducted under FHWA’s new Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) guidance.

To view more information on this effort, click here.

Timeline

  • November 2005 - Project initiation
  • November 2007 - Corridor Study completed

Agency Involvement

  • Technical Advisory Committee and Executive Committee meetings
  • Agencies involved included: Arapahoe County, City of Centennial, City of Greenwood Village, City of Aurora, Town of Foxfield, Douglas County, CDOT, FHWA, DRCOG and RTD
  • Corridor Study funding provided by federal funds, Arapahoe County, City of Centennial, City of Greenwood Village and CDOT

Community Outreach

  • Four public meetings held (each attended by 60 - 90 people) - February, June and November 2006, and August 2007
  • Community Resource Panel meetings - 12 meetings total with four focus groups, representing residential, business, emergency provider and bicycle advocates/pedestrian interests
  • Newsletters - prior to each public meeting
  • News releases to local media – prior to each public meeting
  • Local jurisdiction’s newsletters
  • Project website

I-25/Arapahoe Road Interchange System Level Feasibility Study - Completed December 2008

The Corridor Study evaluated a wide range of reconstruction options for improvements to the I-25/Arapahoe Road interchange. The corridor study evaluation effort led to the selection of the interchange alternatives examined in the System Level Feasibility Study (SLFS) conducted according to CDOT requirements, which included the Improved Partial Cloverleaf with Costilla Connection and the Single Point Urban Interchange with Costilla Connection. After a detailed analysis, the Improved Partial Cloverleaf with Costilla Connection was recommended for further evaluation in the subsequent NEPA process.

To view the I-25/Arapahoe Road Interchange System Level Feasibility Study, click here.
To view the I-25/Arapahoe Road Interchange System Level Feasibility Study Executive Summary, click here.

Timeline

  • December 2008 - Feasibility Study approved by the Colorado Transportation Commission

Request for Federal Funding - November 2009

Language to be included in the request for federal discretionary highway funds was submitted to Congressman Mike Coffman in November 2009. This request did not identify the Improved Partial Cloverleaf with Costilla Connection as the ultimate improvement. In fact, since a number of Congressionally-designated projects had encountered roadblocks and dead-ends because the project description within the authorizing and/or appropriating bill was either not clear or complete enough to allow necessary work to move forward, it was requested that the federal discretionary highway funding request include the following language: "I-25 & Arapahoe Road (SH 88) Interchange Reconstruction Project—Arapahoe County, Colorado. Project should incorporate necessary studies, design, right-of-way acquisition, utilities, & construction of a phase of the EA and FONSI approved alternative." This language reflects the intent of the local agencies to complete the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), if appropriate, before a final specific project would be identified. Any reference to a Costilla Connection in previous funding-related documents was merely based on the recommendations made in the System Feasibility Study, which was the best available information at that time in the project progression.