CDOT Reps Portray I-70 Widening as Inevitable
Residents barely outnumbered the representatives pitching them on the new I-70 “cover” last night at a public meeting in Elyria Swansea. The speakers painted the project — linked to the expensive, traffic-generating I-70 widening — as a done deal.
Advocacy efforts to re-route the highway are still active, but face an intransigent Colorado Department of Transportation, which has deemed the option unviable, and Mayor Michael Hancock, who officially declared his support for the $1.8 billion design in 2013.
The highway widening project has yet to complete the environmental review process, but barring a lawsuit or drastic policy reversal, the wider I-70 is on track to be built. Once the highway has been lowered below street grade, a two-block parcel of land will be built on top of it.
CDOT, city employees, and consultants kept up the appearance of inevitability last night at the Swansea Recreation Center, where they pitched two similar versions of the highway cover. Neighborhood residents gave their opinions, which CDOT representatives said will guide the final design.
“We want to gather information and input from all of you,” a meeting facilitator told the sparse crowd. “There are not going to be any decisions made in this meeting. We’re going to make a decision later this summer.”
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