C-470/Alameda Interchange Opens!

The C-470/Alameda Interchange opened June 26, ahead of schedule.

The full movement interchange will establish an important transportation element in the area by providing an alternate access route to the US 6/Union/Simms and C-470/Morrison interchanges, which currently serve the Lakewood area, particularly Green Mountain. The new interchange also will provide unprecedented access between C-470 and the north end of the Rooney Valley, which is the home of Solterra – a new, master-planned community being developed by Carma. Solterra is hosting the 2008 Parade of Homes July 26- September 1.

Contemplated since the inception of C-470, the Alameda Interchange finally came to fruition last year through the collaboration among Jefferson County, the City of Lakewood, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Green Tree Metropolitan District. These entities coordinated the funding to construct the interchange, for which an Environmental Assessment was completed in 1999 with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

The EA findings included a recommendation to close Alameda Avenue west of C-470, over the Hogback, assisting the preservation of Dinosaur Ridge paleontological elements and increasing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. This decision was made jointly by Jefferson County, the City of Lakewood and CDOT, and was validated through the EA process.

Credit for the successful, timely completion of the Alameda Interchange construction project largely goes to Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, project engineer, led by project manager Tom Nead, and SEMA Construction, Inc., general contractor, led by project manager Jud Barlow.

Construction included widening lanes on Alameda Parkway approaching the interchange, widening the bridge over C-470 by four lanes to accommodate the turn lanes, installing curb and gutter, traffic lights and storm drainage, and building concrete on-and-off ramps, retaining walls and sidewalks.

The Alameda interchange is integral in realizing the Rooney Valley's unique regional potential for high quality residential, office, and commercial development. The Valley's west metro location and unique land features provide an opportunity for one-of-a-kind signature office sites and corporate campuses.

The interchange provides needed access to land located within Lakewood city limits with the capacity for nearly 12 million square feet of commercial space and an additional 200 residential units. In addition to more than 1,100 residential units planned in Carma's 280-acre, $450 million Solterra development, land located in adjacent jurisdictions within the Rooney Valley could accommodate another 15 millions square feet of commercial and hundreds more residential units.

The Interchange, road realignments, and improvements will create a logical division between high volume workforce/commuter traffic and local residential traffic while enhancing bicycle and pedestrian connectivity within the valley, especially regionally significant areas such as the Hogback and Dinosaur Ridge. The new interchange will help bring to fruition the vision and intentions set out in the 2002 Joint Rooney Valley Master Plan regarding the development of commercial property and the attraction of primary jobs.

The planned interchange provided a key impetus to intergovernmental agreements between The City, Town of Morrison, and Jefferson County and demonstrated successful economic development collaboration. An exciting accomplishment that shows the opportunity which lies ahead in the Rooney Valley is the selection of Solterra as the 2008 Parade of Homes location. This is the first time the Parade of Homes has been hosted in Lakewood.