Rebecca from Denver writes, “What is driving you crazy? Will they EVER finish the construction at Broadway and Mississippi? It's been years, and now they've taken out the sidewalk along Mississippi, so there's NO way for pedestrians or cyclists to get across the railroad tracks without going north to Alameda or South to Evans (I don't count Iowa because it's hideously unsafe and not wheelchair accessible.) Will the finished project restore pedestrian and bike access?”
Let me answer that last part first, yes, pedestrian and bike access will be wonderful once the work is done.
You are right Rebecca that it seems that construction on Broadway has been going on since before the Broncos moved out of the old Mile High Stadium. In reality the work at Mississippi and Broadway is the last of the major improvements on South Broadway all the way down to Englewood.
The four year rebuild of Broadway from Arizona Avenue to Yale Avenue started in the summer of 2009 and it looks and drives great. The road surface, the sidewalks, the trees in the median are all new.
The rebuild of the Broadway at Mississippi Ave intersection started almost a year ago in March of 2016. The majority of the work has been completed. Denver public works tells me the installation of the storm sewer system is 95% complete. The interconnected fiber optic system, updated traffic signals, light poles and the electrical work is 80% complete.
The part that you see most often is the road surface. Denver public works reports to me that the roadway grading and concrete paving is 60% complete. They say now that all the necessary utility work by Xcel Energy to accommodate the new roadway is finished they will start the process of paving the rest of the west side lanes in the coming weeks.
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The South Broadway project has been divided into a series of six construction phases.
Phases 1 and 2 are complete. They are wrapping up phase 2A, the reconstruction of the retaining wall and multiuse trail on the north side of Mississippi from Acoma to Broadway, which they hope to have complete in the next few weeks.
Phase 3, the reconstruction of the center portion of Broadway from north of Mississippi to Kentucky, and phase 4, the reconstruction of Broadway from Tennessee Avenue to Kentucky Avenue on the east side are on target Denver Works tells me to be complete this spring.
Phases 5 & 6 is just the final touches which includes streetscaping, landscaping and the addition of a center lane median. All striping, signage and traffic signals will be completed at that time as well.
When the first shove went in the ground the plan was to have all work completed by the end of 2017 but the good weather has allowed the work to move faster than expected. The new timeline as the project fully complete by this summer.
I think you will see a dramatic improvement in the traffic flow Rebecca once all the paving is finished on what will eventually be southbound Broadway this spring. Until then, hope for warm and quiet spring weather so the work will continue without delays.
Denver7 traffic reporter Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 20 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebookand Twitter or listen to hisDriving You Crazy podcast.