Northwest Parkway

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The Northwest Parkway is an 8.9-mile toll road that connects E-470 in the northern Denver metropolitan area to just before U.S. 36 in Broomfield, Colorado. The Parkway is one segment of the Denver Beltway system, which includes E-470 and C-470. The Parkway comprises four lanes, 26 structures, three major interchanges, four ramp plazas, and four mainline toll plazas. The Parkway was developed by the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority, a joint powers authority formed in 1999 that continued earlier work by a nonprofit entity seeking to connect communities in the northwest Denver metro area to I-25 and U.S. 36, providing better access to jobs and commercial establishments. The project was locally financed with toll revenue bonds and opened in 2003, but with traffic volumes less than forecast, a decision to lease the facility to a private consortium was made, prompted initially by an unsolicited proposal received in 2006. A 99-year, long-term lease agreement with Northwest Parkway LLC to operate and maintain the toll road in exchange for the right to retain the toll proceeds was executed in August 2007. An upfront payment consisting of cash, the assumption of existing debt, and an annual administrative fee to the Authority to be paid over the life of the lease, was primarily used to defease the toll road's debt. A portion of it was placed into escrow pending a notice to proceed if issued by the end of 2018 to extend the Parkway 2.3 miles south over U.S. 36 to SH 128 in Broomfield, as well as notice to proceed to extend the Parkway 15 miles further southwest from there to SH 93 at 64th Avenue in Arvada. Release of the funds in escrow to the Authority is also possible if the two extensions are completed by the end of 2020. In both cases, the concessionaire must also contribute another $60 million to the construction of the extensions.

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