Colorado Department of Transportation working to make stretch of Interstate 25 between 104th & Highway 36 safer

Colorado transportation officials are working to improve a heavily congested highway in the northern part of the Denver metro area.

The stretch of Interstate 25 between 104th Avenue and Highway 36, also known as the Boulder Turnpike, continues to be a problem spot for car crashes. 

Communications Manager with CDOT Tamara Rollison said the stretch of I-25 sees an average of two crashes per day. As a result, CDOT is asking travelers, elected officials and residents to share their ideas to make it safer.

CDOT hosted an Open House Wednesday night at the Northglenn Recreation Center to receive new ideas. The biggest problem experts said they are seeing is rear-end crashes which result in backups on a daily basis.

In an effort to minimize issues, CDOT is looking to make the shoulders wider. Rollison said the interstate's shoulders are currently not wide enough to allow much room for emergency responders and stranded drivers.

Drivers who weave erratically as they attempt to cross lanes to get to their exits is also a problem.

As CDOT sees more people moving to the area around the interstate, traffic congestion is a problem that they say needs to be fixed.

"It's highly congested as the area is growing and when you have a growing area, you are going to have more traffic," Rollison said. "It's just a natural occurrence that happens with growth. In this particular stretch of I-25, the number one cause of crashes are the rear end crashes during high congestion."

CDOT is now in the study process for changes. That will last until spring 2026. CDOT says they will allow people to share their responses to the plans in an online survey that will be available online at some point in the near future.