Central 70

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The Central 70 project will redesign 10 miles of I-70 in Denver, Colorado from I-25 on the west to Chambers Road on the east. The interstate will be fully reconstructed between Brighton Boulevard and I-270, widened from I-270 to Chambers Road, and restriped between I-25 and Brighton Boulevard. Together, these improvements will provide new capacity in the form of one new express toll lane in each direction, with the potential to add a second express toll lane between Brighton Boulevard and I-270 in the future. The project will remove the 50-plus-year-old, 2-mile-long viaduct between Brighton and Colorado Boulevards, lower this section of interstate below grade, and place a 4-acre park over the 1,000-foot portion of the lowered section between Clayton Street and Columbine Street. The project is Colorado's largest-ever transportation project. It is designed to reduce travel time through the corridor by one-third to one-half by 2035, accommodate the needs for growing population, and improve safety by redesigning shoulders and interchanges to reduce crashes. The park above the lowered portion will also unite the Swansea and Elyria neighborhoods, which are currently split on either side of the corridor. The public space is expected to feature a small amphitheater, a splash park, a sports field, play areas, and room for farmers' markets and community events. The project is being delivered under a design-build-finance-operate-maintain concession agreement between the High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) and Colorado Bridge Enterprise (CBE) within the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Kiewit Meridiam Partners LLC, a special purpose company incorporated by Kiewit Development Company, a major infrastructure developer and investor, and Meridiam, a global equity investment firm. The state will compensate the concessionaire with availability payments made by CBE and HPTE over the life of the 30-year agreement following construction completion.

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