Proposal To Expand C-470 In Douglas County Has Residents Worried About Noise
LONE TREE, Colo. (CBS4) - Homeowners are weighing in on a proposal to expand C-470 in Douglas County. The work would ease congestion, but residents say it will create another problem.
A public hearing was being held on the issue Wednesday evening at the Lone Tree Arts Center.
The proposed improvements would stretch along C-470 from Interstate 25 to Kipling Street. The Colorado Department of Transportation says they want to expand the area to eight lanes in some parts, including two express lanes.
Residents say they have no problem with the expansion, but their big issue is with the noise. In 2006 CDOT recommended putting up noise barriers from Quebec to University to deal with the noise problem. But last month CDOT conducted a new noise study that found the barriers were no longer needed. Many people disagree and that's the issue CDOT was addressing at Wednesday night's meeting.
A group called the Highlands Ranch Neighborhood Coalition hired an independent highway noise consultant, and they found the noise levels were actually much worse than CDOT says. The group is demanding that CDOT reinstate the two miles of noise barriers originally recommended.
"We are opposed to having them building a highway and not putting in noise mitigation because it will be on the backs of our residents because of detriment of quality of life," Carter Sales with the Highlands Ranch Neighborhood Coalition said. "And also property values is another big issue with us."
"What we want to do is just sit down and we're going to talk to each other and ultimately we'll follow what the guidelines say and see where that lands as far as the discussion," Amy Ford with CDOT said.
Ford says any issues about the $265 million project need to be dealt with quickly because CDOT wants to start the work next year.