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State Highway 470 (C-470, SH 470) is a state highway located in the southwestern portion of the Denver Metro Area. It is also the southwestern portion of the
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
Metro area's beltway. SH 470 begins at US 6 in Golden and heads south interchanging
Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...
and then US 285 outside
Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...
. After leaving Morrison, it then heads east passing by Littleton and through
Highlands Ranch Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...
before interchanging Interstate 25 in Lone Tree, where the freeway continues as a tollway and where the state highway designation ends. The highway was originally planned to be a full continuous beltway around Denver and was also proposed to be in the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
and designated as Interstate 470 (I-470) in the 1960s. However, the beltway project was attacked on environmental impact grounds and the interstate beltway was never built. Alternatives to provide faster and easier access to and from Denver for the southwestern suburbs were discussed after plans for a full beltway ceased. As the southwestern suburbs grew in population, a grand parkway known as the Centennial Parkway was proposed and then was later designated as SH 470 after the road was built to freeway standards. SH 470 is owned and maintained by the
Colorado Department of Transportation The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT, pronounced See Dot) is the principal department of the Colorado state government that administers state government transportation responsibilities in the state of Colorado. CDOT is responsible f ...
(CDOT), an agency responsible for building and maintaining state highways, US highways, and Interstate highways across the state of
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
.


Route description

SH 470 begins in
Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...
as an extension of Johnson Road at an intersection with US 6 (6th Avenue) near the Jefferson County government office complex and its adjacent
light rail station A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, b ...
. The interchange also includes direct ramps to westbound US 6, which continues northwest towards central Golden and east to Denver. SH 470 travels south from the intersection on a four-lane freeway and passes over US 40 before reaching an interchange with
I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
near Tin Cup Hogback Park. The freeway expands to six lanes and continues south along the side of Green Mountain on the western outskirts of Lakewood. It intersects SH 8 at a
single-point urban interchange A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thr ...
in
Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...
near the Bandimere Speedway complex. From Morrison, SH 470 begins a gradual turn to the southeast as it passes between Mount Glennon and Bear Creek Lake Regional Park. It intersects US 285, a minor freeway that travels east through Lakewood, and continues south with four lanes along the edge of a hogback at the edge of the Denver area's suburban sprawl, served by several exits on the freeway. SH 470 turns east in Ken Caryl near Hildebrand Ranch and intersects SH 121 at the western edge of the
Chatfield Reservoir Chatfield Dam and Reservoir is a dam and artificial lake located on the South Platte River, south of Littleton, Colorado. The dam and reservoir were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a response to the disastrous flood of 1965. ...
. The freeway turns northeast and dips into Columbine as it skirts the northern edge of the reservoir and its dam before coming to an interchange with US 85. SH 470 gains a parallel
multi-use trail A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
for pedestrians and bicycles that follows the freeway as it enters
Highlands Ranch Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...
in Douglas County. The freeway cuts through the northern edge of Highlands Ranch's residential neighborhoods, intersecting SH 177. SH 470 dips to the south to follow Willow Creek around the
Park Meadows Park Meadows is an enclosed shopping mall in Lone Tree, Colorado. Opened on August 30, 1996, the mall features Forever 21, JCPenney, Dillard's, Nordstrom, Macy's, Crate and Barrel and Dick's Sporting Goods as its anchor stores. History Park ...
shopping mall in Lone Tree, terminating at a
stack interchange A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...
with
I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
. The freeway continues east onto the
E-470 E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
tollway, which completes a half-loop around the eastern suburbs of Denver.


History


Proposed I-470

In the 1960s the
Colorado Department of Transportation The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT, pronounced See Dot) is the principal department of the Colorado state government that administers state government transportation responsibilities in the state of Colorado. CDOT is responsible f ...
perceived a need for a beltway around the Denver Metro Area and sent a proposal to the
Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
. The plan was for the federal government to provide 90% of funds for the project with the state providing the difference. I-470 was added to the Federal Highway Act of 1968 and was to be part of the
Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
and Defense System. The Denver City Council approved the location and began engineering and environmental impact studies. After a few months the studies went under analysis with negative feedback. The Colorado Department of Health was opposed to the interstate beltway on the grounds that it would violate the Federal Clean Air Act. Other studies compared the proposed I-470 to the
I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
and
I-225 Interstate 225 (I-225) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. The freeway is a connector spur route of I-25 that acts as an eastern bypass in the Denver metropolitan area and serves Aurora. It also provides dire ...
freeways suggesting that alternate uses for the land (other than freeways) would be more environmentally friendly.


Alternatives and construction

In response to feedback from the Colorado Department of Health, the governor ordered all efforts to plan and build the beltway to cease. A separate commission was established by Governor Richard Lamm to determine the best course of action. The commission came up with 11 alternatives. The final decision was to use federal highway funds to build a grand parkway known as Centennial Parkway (a partial beltway in the southwest portion of the metro area) and widen existing roads. As the southwestern area grew rapidly, plans for Centennial Parkway evolved to conform to freeway standards. The proposed road was designated State Highway 470. Present-day SH 470 is a
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
that is mostly built to
interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
standards. Tolled express lanes along the C-470 portion of the beltway with two westbound toll lanes from Interstate 25 to Colorado Boulevard (no interchange), one westbound toll lane from Colorado Boulevard to State Route 121 (Wadsworth Boulevard), and one eastbound toll lane from just west of the Platte River overpass to Interstate 25 are completed and the state of Colorado began collecting tolls on August 18, 2020.


Modern day expansion

After the completion of C-470 in the southwest, desires for a full beltway persisted in some circles and plans for an extension were created.
CDOT CDOT may refer to: *\cdot – the LaTeX input for the dot operator (⋅) *Cdot, a rapper from Sumter, South Carolina *Centre for Development of Telematics, India * Chicago Department of Transportation * Clustered Data ONTAP, an operating system from ...
did not wish to participate in the building of the freeway extension and left the counties and cities of the metro area to provide funding for the project. The east, north, and northwest portions of the beltway could only be built as tollways. A tollway extension of SH 470 was built to the junction with State Highway 83 (Parker Road) and termed Eastern/Extension 470 or
E-470 E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
. Subsequently,
E-470 E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
was extended to the interchange with I-70 in the east, and later to
I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
in the north. This newly added tollway was built and continues to be administered by a quasi-governmental organization known as the E-470 Public Highway Authority. When freeway interests pushed for the rest of the beltway to be completed, the city of
Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...
voted to stop all efforts to finish the beltway due to traffic concerns. The city and county of Broomfield constructed an continuation of the
E-470 E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
tollway from
I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
to an interchange with
US 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...
(the Denver-Boulder Turnpike) near
Flatiron Crossing Mall Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places * Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...
. This section of the tollway is known as the
Northwest Parkway The Northwest Parkway is a road that runs from U.S. Highway 36 (US 36) to the Interstate 25 (I-25)/ E-470 interchange. Both terminuses are in Broomfield, northwest of Denver. In combination with E-470 () and State Highway&n ...
, and is administered, similarly to
E-470 E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
, by its own quasi-governmental agency. In conjunction with
E-470 E-470 is a controlled-access toll road that traverses the eastern portion of the Denver metropolitan area in the US state of Colorado. It is the eastern half of the 470 beltway that serves Meridian, Parker, Aurora, Denver International Airpor ...
(47 miles) and SH 470 (27 miles), the Northwest Parkway brings the total length of the completed portion of the beltway around the
Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver r ...
to approximately . The uncompleted portion, from the west end of the Northwest Parkway to the northwest end of SH 470, is along existing street

In 2007, the Portuguese company Brisa - Auto-estradas de Portugal, BRISA paid $603 million to operate the road for the following 99 years, until 2106. The lease included a clause restricting a "Competing Transportation Facility. This clause was invoked in an April 30, 2008 letter when Broomfield wished to make changes to 160th Ave. In August 2003,
CDOT CDOT may refer to: *\cdot – the LaTeX input for the dot operator (⋅) *Cdot, a rapper from Sumter, South Carolina *Centre for Development of Telematics, India * Chicago Department of Transportation * Clustered Data ONTAP, an operating system from ...
made a compromise with the cities of
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
,
Arvada Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...
and
Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...
to do an environmental impact study, the first step in an attempt to complete the beltway by 2020. The last segment of the beltway would be another
tollway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
, tentatively called W-470, and would connect the west end of the
Northwest Parkway The Northwest Parkway is a road that runs from U.S. Highway 36 (US 36) to the Interstate 25 (I-25)/ E-470 interchange. Both terminuses are in Broomfield, northwest of Denver. In combination with E-470 () and State Highway&n ...
to the northwest end of SH 470 but was later rejected and cancelled. The same plans to complete the beltway later reemerged and were to call the last section the Jefferson Parkway which is to begin at the Northwest Parkway and end at the west end of SH 470. Jefferson County, Broomfield and
Arvada Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...
have formed the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority to construct the freeway. If the 20-mile parkway is constructed, Denver will be completely encircled by a "metropolitan beltway." In February of 2020, Broomfield notified Arvada and Jefferson County of plans to exit the Authority. After 12 years of being in the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, Broomfield opted out after citing an elevated reading of
plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
in the proposed path of the tollway, where the former nuclear weapons manufacturing plant was along the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Opposition also grew in Arvada as concerns for excavating decades-old plutonium as well as noise impacts, air and light quality, and debris flying into people's yards from high speed traffic.


Exit list


Controversy

The completion of the freeway has been mired in controversy. In 1975 Colorado Governor
Dick Lamm Richard Douglas Lamm (August 3, 1935 – July 29, 2021) was an American politician, writer, and attorney. He served three terms as 38th Governor of Colorado as a Democrat (1975–1987) and ran for the Reform Party's nomination for Preside ...
vowed to "drive a silver spike" through the plans for the road. In 1989 voters turned down an expansion of the freeway by a four-to-one margin. In the late 1990s a citizens group called Citizens Involved in the Northwest Quadrant (CINQ) was formed to oppose the completion of the freeway. In 2008, a group of Arvada residents sued to try and stop the city from joining the newly formed JPPHA.


Notes


See also

* *


References


External links


Denver's 470 Saga
{{3di, 70 470 Transportation in Jefferson County, Colorado Golden, Colorado Transportation in Douglas County, Colorado
Colorado State Highway 470 State Highway 470 (C-470, SH 470) is a state highway located in the southwestern portion of the Denver Metro Area. It is also the southwestern portion of the Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most popu ...
Transportation in Lakewood, Colorado Littleton, Colorado Interstate 70 Beltways in the United States