End of the Road for 470 Link

The Colorado Department of Transportation last week halted consideration of a highway to link the Northwest Parkway toll road and Colorado 470. 

The proposed link that would complete a loop around the Denver metro area has drawn strong opposition from public officials and residents of the suburb of Golden.

CDOT cited the disagreement over the plan and declining funds in halting a study of the project. The agency has spent $13.7 million to consider more than 70 alternatives.

“From CDOT’s perspective, it just doesn’t make sense to continue spending what limited dollars we do have to complete a study if agreement can’t be reached on what improvements should be made and no future funding stream is identified to implement the improvements,” Russ George, the department’s executive director, said in a statement.

Northwest Parkway began operating as a private toll road this year after the local public authority faced downgrades on its debt to junk status and the threat of default because revenue had not reached projected levels. 

C-470 was built with taxpayer money. It connects to E-470, a public toll road east of Denver that carries traffic to Denver International Airport. Northwest Parkway carries traffic to the suburbs northwest of Denver. The uncompleted loop now ends just east of Golden.

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