Denver International Airport is planning to help make Peña Boulevard safer and less congested. The road itself was built 30 years ago.
In the meantime, Green Valley Ranch development really took off, Gaylord of the Rockies was built, and, of course, the airport is getting busier and busier.
Now, more than 139,000 cars come through this area each day, which is an 80% increase from 30 years ago.
Watch Sophia Villalba's report from Monday morning in the video below.
With that comes traffic jams, longer commutes, and safety concerns.
One traveler at DIA thinks now is the perfect time to start planning ahead.
“Over the years, I've seen traffic go up quite a bit in Colorado, especially out in this area by DIA, because it's growing really fast. So yes, traffic is getting worse here,” said Michael Lehnerz, an Arvada resident.
That's the kind of feedback the airport wants from you to shape their plans.
Some ideas include adding a dedicated bus lane, creating a carpool or toll lane, and even building a new road to separate airport traffic from local traffic. A feedback survey was just released last week, and within one day, DIA has received over 3,000 responses from the public.
“As the airport has continued to grow and as the surrounding community has continued to grow, we’re seeing increasing congestion on Peña. We are also seeing an increase in collision rates on Peña, so overall trips on Peña have become unreliable,” said Adam O’Brien, Peña Design & NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) project manager.
DIA says this feedback survey is the first of many opportunities for public engagement on this project. The project will have a more formal open house in January. Construction on the road could begin as soon as 2028.
If you are interested in providing feedback to DIA on Peña Boulevard, click here.
