Whoa! I-70 Will Close Between Brighton and Colorado Friday Night

If you’re planning on driving along Interstate 70 between 10 p.m. Friday, January 4, and 6 a.m. the following day, consider taking public transportation. Or just staying home entirely.

I-70 will close between Brighton and Colorado boulevards so that crews can conduct a load test on a viaduct to prepare for construction in and around the area, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. “This work requires a full closure so crews can conduct the assessment safely,” the department says.

Eastbound I-70 traffic will detour to northbound I-25 to westbound I-76, then to southbound I-270 before finally reconnecting with I-70. Westbound traffic will detour to northbound I-270, then to eastbound I-76, southbound I-25, and back to westbound I-70. Cross streets under I-70 will remain open.

Other closures will be in place during that time. They include:

• Westbound Brighton Boulevard off-ramp
  
• Eastbound Brighton Boulevard on-ramp
  
• Eastbound York Street off-ramp
  
• Eastbound and westbound Steele/Vasquez on- and off-ramps
  
• Northbound Colorado Boulevard to westbound I-70 on-ramp
  
• 46th Avenue closed from Steele Street and west of Colorado Boulevard

In 2018 CDOT embarked on the massive Central 70 project, which will reconstruct a ten-mile stretch of I-70 between Brighton and Chambers Road to remove the viaduct and lower a portion of the interstate and replace it with a four-acre park.

The controversial project has attracted several lawsuits, the last of which was settled in December. Stipulations of the settlement include installing air-monitoring stations and new landscaping in the surrounding neighborhoods and conducting a CDOT-funded community health study. At-large Denver City Council member Debbie Ortega has also requested funds for a full-time staffer at the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment to oversee noise coming from the project.