NEWS RELEASE
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
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BOULDER/BROOMFIELD/ADAMS/WELD COUNTIES – The Colorado Highway 7 (Arapahoe Avenue) Corridor Segment A project is tackling transportation challenges in a critical commuter and business route between 28th St. and 63rd St. in Boulder.
This project aims to improve safety, enhance transit options, ease congestion, and connect the Northwest Region between Brighton and Boulder.
A public presentation has been posted to the Segment A: 28th Street to 63rd Street website.
The presentation and questionnaire are available through Nov. 6, 2023.
More About Segment A
The CO 7 (Arapahoe Avenue) Corridor Segment A between 28th Street and 63rd Street in Boulder is in the preliminary design study and environmental phase. The corridor is a critical commuter and business route (transit, biking, personal vehicle, goods movement) connecting the Northwest Region. The project area is commonly known as East Arapahoe, a six-lane road and one of the City of Boulder’s most heavily traveled commuter corridors. This project will provide a safe multimodal transportation system that supports the economy, enhances the environment, and improves the quality of life for both residents and visitors.
As part of the preliminary design phase, the project team will identify infrastructure costs that help us pursue funding to construct the improvements in the future.
The Entire Project Study
CO 7 Multimodal Corridor between Brighton and Boulder is gaining speed. Colorado Department of Transportation, Regional Transportation District and local agencies are collaborating efforts on CO 7 between Brighton and Boulder to identify potential improvements along the corridor.
The vision is to improve traveler safety, efficiency and operations and access to multimodal travel along a nearly 25-mile stretch of CO 7. Early planning and design along CO 7 will assist in creating a cohesive and consistent corridor.
CO 7 was originally a two-lane, rural arterial highway. Rapid population and employment growth in the communities and urban center developments along the highway have transformed the highway’s travel patterns and functionality. Today, CO 7 is evolving into a major east-west arterial connecting residents to jobs, activity centers and the regional transportation system. There are projected to be more than 49,000 new households by 2050 and 38,000 new jobs along the corridor by 2040. This is expected to lead to a 37 percent increase in traffic along an already congested corridor.
To address this growth, early planning and design efforts are intended to identify priority projects so, as funding becomes available, improvements can be made along the corridor. The large driving force for this corridor is the CO 7 Coalition. The CO 7 Coalition consists of representatives from the following jurisdictions: the cities of Boulder, Brighton, Lafayette and Thornton, the Town of Erie, Adams and Boulder counties, and the City and County of Broomfield. Additional coalition members include Commuting Solutions, the Northwest Chamber Alliance, Smart Commute, Boulder Transportation Connections, RTD and CDOT.
This coalition provides a forum to coordinate and advocate for the planning and implementation of multimodal transit improvements and transit supportive development in the CO 7 corridor between Brighton and Boulder. More specifically, the coalition is advocating for a multimodal corridor that includes high-quality/high-frequency Bus Rapid Transit service; a regional bikeway accompanied by local bus, bike and pedestrian connections; first and final mile connections; and future innovative transportation modes.
The CO 7 Coalition is also advocating for and working collaboratively with local officials to secure funding for studies and improvements that support the corridor goals.
Numerous cities, counties and local agencies are working hard to identify construction funding while these study efforts are ongoing. Many grant programs that provide funding for projects want to see tangible planning efforts in place first, so they know the local jurisdictions are committed to the effort. Having preliminary design plans completed will make this corridor construction ready, giving it an advantage over other projects that haven’t gone through the initial planning efforts.
About the CO 7 Corridor
The CO 7 Multimodal Corridor extends between U.S. 85 in Brighton and 28th Street in Boulder. The corridor consists of separate project segments from A-M. Each segment is in an early planning and design phase (10-15 percent) and will work to identify improvements that align with the corridor goals. Construction funding is currently not secured. The planning and preliminary design efforts will allow for segments to advance further into design once funding is identified.
How to Get Involved
There will be public engagement opportunities as design advances for each segment, giving community members a chance to learn more about projects in their area. Residents in the cities and counties along the CO 7 route can also reach out to their local government for information.
Any input about the corridor or individual segments are welcome through these avenues:
- CO 7 Corridor hotline: 720-593-4540
- CO 7 Corridor email: [email protected]
For more information visit the CDOT CO 7 Corridor website or sign-up for project updates from CDOT.
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