U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis toured the Floyd Hill Project along Interstate 70 in on Tuesday.
The project involves roughly eight miles of I-70, stretching from Evergreen to Idaho Springs. It is separated into three sections and aims to accomplish several goals, including widening the roads while adding a new connection between US 6 and Idaho Springs.
The I-70 Mountain corridor acts as an economic gateway for the state of Colorado and the nation. Home to long-time residents, dozens of large and small businesses and tourism traffic, the section of I-70 is in desperate need of improvements. CDOT spent several years studying the corridor to support the project.
Now, with support from stakeholders and national leaders, construction of the I-70 Floyd Hill project is underway with its early projects.
The project is featured in Roads & Bridges April issue. It also won at Bentley’s 2023 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure in the Roads and Highways category.
“For so long, this was a vision. This was a project design on a page," said Buttigieg in a statement. “Now that this funding is moving, paired with the major commitment that the state has demonstrated passing its own funding, we're actually seeing it turned into results.”
The federal funding Buttigieg referenced is the $100 million Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects grant. In total, the Floyd Hill Project is estimated to cost $700 million and continue into late 2028.
“The Biden administration is investing about $100 million in this project,” Polis said in a statement. “Alongside our state resources, it allows us to get it done. Improving safety, reducing traffic congestion, and making it for an easier trip to the mountains.”
“Floyd Hill is a challenging section of I-70 to drive, but CDOT’s team is making good progress on thoughtful improvements to make travel through this area smoother and safer. Combined with our expanded transit investments, including the Pegasus service along this stretch of I-70, Coloradans will have better travel options to access the mountains and all there is to enjoy there,” said Shoshana Lew, CDOT executive director, in a statement.
In March, the Floyd Hill Project began work on the West Section — the second portion of the project. The Central Section will see construction start in the fall of this year.
The project began with the East Section, where construction kicked off in July of 2023.
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Source: Denver7.com
