CDOT Plans To Improve I-270 With Help From Virtual Community
DENVER (CBS4) - If you've driven down Interstate 270, you've probably felt like Alvin Johnson.
"Ugh, man it's rough."
Johnson is a retired military sergeant who became a commercial truck driver and he wants to see the 50-year-old highway whipped back into shape.
"Spend some of this money on these roads and some of these highways. There are potholes all over. They need to fix this stuff," Johnson said.
Fortunately, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration heard Alvin's and drivers like him. They have created a virtual event room on the I-270 corridor improvement project. The virtual room is open on CDOT's website until Aug. 30.
The purpose is to gather community feedback on its plans to expand the seven-mile highway, modernize the road, and accommodate transportation need. It also touches on several issues, including the "roller coaster" effect you feel on the road between the Vasquez and York Street exits.
"I don't know how the construction guys built this, but when you're passing, when you're going down the road, it's like a big hump but it throws you up. And I'm like, how they build this stuff," Johnson questioned.
It's questions like this the CDOT wants to answer. They are planning on drawing up plans to fix the four bridges considered to be obsolete, while protecting the flood plains for Clear Creek, Sand Creek, and the South Platte River. Most importantly, expand the highway and if all goes well, construction should start by the end of 2021.
"They got to expand. Open some of these roads and highways so that you're not sitting in traffic for two to three hours," Johnson said.