NW Parkway in Denver

A preliminary traffic and revenue study by Vollmer suggests the Northwest Parkway in the Denver area should be able to raise $240m to $275m in bonds, just about enough to cover its design-build costs of $175m and to provide for other project costs. The NW Parkway Public Highway Auth, a not-for-profit toll agency formed by local cities has chosen the Washington Group (ex-Morrison Knudsen) as its design-build contractor. The NW Pwy is due to be a continuation of the E-470 toll road at I-25/North/157th Av in northern Adams County (near Thornton) 17km west and then a bit south to US-287 in Broomfield near US-36, the old Drenver-Boulder Turnpike.

Steve Hogan the CEO for the NW Pwy says however that the project faces major challenges from environmental regulators. The Denver Regional Council of Govts (DRCOG) has to establish through air emissions modeling that construction of the road won’t adversely affect air quality conformity in the region. And EPA regulators have said they’ll look critically at the project’s potential to promote ‘sprawl.’ Most of the local cities say the development is already there – and they are proud of it – and the roadway is needed to cater to that. But the EPA is on a mission to reshape America!