Algonquin Acres Community

Ground Breaking for the Arapahoe /Parker Road Project 6/10

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners held a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction on the final phase of the Parker Road/Arapahoe Road interchange improvement project.  The $32 million project will construct a grade-separated interchange that will carry Parker Road over Arapahoe Road.

“We have seen tremendous growth at this intersection in recent years and know it will continue in the future,” said CDOT Deputy Executive Director Peggy Catlin.  “With this long-awaited and much needed project, a fully-functional interchange will be constructed, allowing for additional growth while providing an improved transportation facility for motorists.”

Currently, the intersection carries 110,000 vehicles a day and projections show that traffic volumes will increase to 170,000 vehicles a day by 2030.  The grade-separated interchange will better accommodate the higher traffic volumes while improving safety and mobility. 

The intersection will become a full interchange with ramps and limited traffic signals.  Free-flowing traffic on Parker Road will benefit Arapahoe Road by eliminating the red light signal time on Arapahoe Road that is currently needed to provide for the Parker Road through movement. 

In addition, the interchange, as a whole, will be designed to better handle traffic during peak travel times.  The triple-lane ramp from southbound Parker Road to westbound Arapahoe Road will remain in place and a two-lane ramp from eastbound Arapahoe Road to northbound Parker Road will be constructed in the southeast corner.

            Improvements to this intersection have been planned since 1998 when an Environmental Assessment (EA) was completed.  In the 12 years following, Arapahoe County and CDOT have worked together to find funding for the project, completing the smaller phases along the way.

            “When we discovered in 2001 that this project might not happen for another 30 years, it was unacceptable, so we set our sights on a different path for funding,” said Commissioner Susan Beckman, who has worked over the last 10 years to help Arapahoe County secure the funds necessary to begin the next phase of improvements to Parker and Arapahoe Roads. “Projects like Parker and Arapahoe don’t just happen. It takes a lot of hard work and tenacity to push them through to completion. I’m very proud of the Board of County Commissioners in Arapahoe County for never wavering in their commitment and for coming up with the entire local match of $9 million to make this project a reality.”   

The first project was completed in 2002 when the triple-lane ramp was constructed from southbound Parker Road to westbound Arapahoe Road.  The project was followed by a project in 2007 that constructed the ring road which intersects at Arapahoe Road and Lewiston Way, just east of Parker Road.  This road will eventually be part of the off-ramp from northbound Parker Road to Arapahoe Road while still providing access to the businesses along the road.  

The most recent improvements took place in 2008 and 2009 when southbound Parker Road was widened between Lewiston Way and the ramp to westbound Arapahoe Road.  The project also constructed a sound wall as identified in the 1998 EA.

The total cost (design, right of way acquisition and construction) for all phases is $50.4 million, including $26.4 million in federal funds, $15.1 million in state funds and $8.9 million from Arapahoe County.

            Hamon Constructors, Inc. is the contractor of the final project, which should be complete by the end of November 2011.

            For more information about the project, visit http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/ParkerArapahoe.  To receive e-mail updates about the project, visit www.coloradodot.info and click on the icon in the upper right-hand corner.  The link will take you to a list of items you can subscribe to including the Parker Road/Arapahoe Road project listed under “Projects.”