I-70 Floyd Hill National Environmental Policy Act Process

Finding of No Significant Impact 

On January 12, 2023, CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) signed a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the I-70 Floyd Hill to Veterans Memorial Tunnels Project (Project). The FONSI completes the NEPA phase of the Project. The FONSI selects the design alternative for this Project (which is based on refinements to the Preferred Alternative identified in the Environmental Assessment), describes the refined project design to the Environmental Assessment alternative and provides information on the next steps. CDOT will now move forward with the final design and construction of the Project, continuing to work with its Context Sensitive Solutions stakeholder teams. Visit the Context Sensitive Solutions and Public Outreach pages of the website for meeting notes and future outreach opportunities.  

Environmental Assessment 

In August, 2021, CDOT released an Environmental Assessment (EA) detailing our preferred plan for highway and other improvements to I-70 between Floyd Hill, west of Evergreen, through the Veterans Memorial Tunnels to the eastern edge of Idaho Springs. During the 60-day EA comment period, CDOT hosted a virtual public engagement event to explain the Project, its impacts, mitigation commitments, and next steps, and provide an opportunity for public and agency comments. CDOT received comments from members of the public and from Clear Creek County and the US Environmental Protection Agency. A summary of the virtual engagement and comments was provided on the Project website in early 2022. The report is available with the EA documents on this page.

Since the EA was released, CDOT released Requests for Proposals for design and construction consultants under a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) delivery method and selected Kraemer North America as the Construction Manager and Atkins as the Designer. The CMGC team reviewed and refined the EA Preferred Alternative in an exhaustive design innovation process with the Project Leadership Team, Technical Team, and Issue Task Forces. As a result, the design has been modified, and a Refined Preferred Alternative has been developed and endorsed. CDOT and FHWA intend to formally select the Refined Preferred Alternative in the EA decision document. The decision document, which is anticipated by the end of 2022, describes the Refined Preferred Alternative, compares its impacts to those of the EA Preferred Alternative, and provides information on the next steps for design and construction of this important Project.

To review the EA document, please email the project team at [email protected].

Early Projects

Several Early Projects were advanced for design, with construction expected to begin on portions in Fall 2022. These Early Projects include roundabouts along US 40 at County Road 65 and Homestead Road, wildlife crossings at Genesee and Empire, and a parking lot for Park and Ride and Pegasus shuttle van service on the northeast quadrant of the I-70 interchange at Ell Rancho (Exit 251 from eastbound I-70 and 252 from westbound I-70). Visit the Early Projects tab on the left to learn more.