Arvada City Leaders Approve One-Time Funding For Jefferson Parkway Plan
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - Arvada city councilors heard from many residents who were largely against the proposed Jefferson Parkway. Their concerns included noise pollution, increased traffic but also notably concerns about plutonium contamination in the air.
After public comment, city councilors approved the one-time funding authorization to the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority by a vote of 5-1, with one member excused. The funding was included in an ordinance authorizing an additional appropriation for the City's 2019 budget. Council decided to have two votes, separating council discussion and a vote regarding funding to the JPPHA from the rest of requested appropriation.
The Jefferson Public Parkway Highway Authority (JPPHA) have the roughly 10-mile toll road connecting Highway 128 near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport with Highway 93 in west Arvada.
The construction, residents say, would disturb the soil at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, the site of a nuclear weapons plant.
RELATED: Man Submits 26-Page Paper On Plutonium Contamination Near Proposed Jefferson Parkway
The government built plutonium triggers at the Rocky Flats plant from 1952 to 1989. It was shut down after a two-year grand jury investigation into environmental violations.