Public Invited to March 23 Open House for I-70/Kipling Interchange Project Preferred Alternative

WHEAT RIDGE—The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) invites the public to learn and provide comments about the I-70/Kipling Interchange preferred alternative during an open house from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, March 23. There will be a brief presentation at 6 p.m., when CDOT will provide a study update and the recommended preferred alternative for future improvements at this interchange.

A Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study of the I-70/Kipling Street Interchange was completed in July 2013. This detailed transportation study provided a plan for future improvements to reduce congestion, optimize operations, improve safety and accommodate multimodal connections at the interchange.

The 18-month National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Preliminary Design phase began in late 2016. The first step of this process is to determine the preferred alternative for the interchange configuration.

Building upon the PEL Study recommendations and incorporating consideration of new information available following the study, the benefits and impacts of three interchange configurations were evaluated. The diverging diamond interchange configuration is being recommended as the preferred alternative because it will provide substantial safety benefits for all modes of travel and improved vehicular operations.

Public comments will be gathered prior to confirming the preferred alternative and moving into an environmental assessment to fully investigate the anticipated benefits and impacts of the proposed project.

Subsequent project tasks will include production of preliminary design plans, and determining funding, scheduling, and phasing recommendations. Funding has not yet been identified for construction. Public and agency input will be used throughout the decision-making process.