Q:        I keep hearing that studies prove that completing the link to the beltway isn’t really necessary.  Is that true?
A:        The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) has estimated that the Denver metropolitan area will grow by over one million people in the next 25 years.  The Colorado State Demographer estimates one million new residents in the state per decade. With that additional population we will see a corresponding increase in traffic.  It is, therefore, imperative that we plan our road network now to avoid preclusion of possible road and transportation options.  While many say that previous transportation studies for the western metropolitan area conclude the completion of the beltway is unnecessary, that simply is not true.  Studies have indicated that up until the year 2015 the missing link is not necessary.  However, the Denver metropolitan area will not stop growing by 2015.  We must plan for the future beyond 2015 and be sure that we make decisions that our children can live with as they go about their daily travels. 

Q:        Golden residents are concerned that the proposed alignment down State Highway 93 (CH 93) will divide their City.  Is that fair?
A.        No community wants additional traffic impacts.  However, we must examine the facts.  As early as 1983 Golden recognized the need to complete the beltway along the CH 93 corridor and made reference to it in their thoroughfare plan.  They endorsed this concept in their 1992 thoroughfare plan.  In fact, knowing that CH 93 was planned as a piece of the beltway, Golden worked hard to have it moved west off of Washington Street to its current intersection with US 6 and State Highway 58.  It was only after that that they begin issuing building permits for home construction along the newly aligned corridor.  Even knowing that CH 93 was planned as a link in the beltway, the City of Golden allowed for home construction along that corridor, as well as an elementary school and senior housing. 

Q:        I’ve heard that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) made the decision to include only CH 93 beltway alignments in the final study in private.  Is that true? 
A:        Over the course of two years,  CDOT’s Northwest Corridor Environmental Impact Statement has reviewed nearly 80 different alignments to complete the 470 beltway link.  During that time CDOT sought public input and comments and conducted a reasonable, objective, and open process with over a dozen public meetings, numerous technical and policy meetings to which the public was invited, and opportunities to work on committees.    

Q:        How will the beltway be funded?  I’ve heard it can’t be funded by tolls, and CDOT certainly doesn’t have the money to pay for it.
A:        Funding for this project must be decided before the final project recommendation is forwarded to the Federal Highway Administration.  Depending on the alternative selected and a host of other issues, such as Federal approval of the pending national highway funding bill, we can't predict how this project will be funded.  Tolling is one option and we know that toll roads have a successful history in Colorado including the Boulder turnpike, E-470, and the Northwest Parkway in Broomfield.  In the latter two cases, both are meeting their bond repayment obligations and traffic volumes are continuously rising to provide a steady stream of revenue for those authorities. 

Q:        If the beltway is completed, will a bunch of development occur to the west?
A:        Absolutely not.  In northwestern Jefferson County, the area where the beltway has been planned for over 40 years, there are over 12,000 acres of open space and land that cannot be developed.  In northwest Arvada there is very little privately held, developable land.  What land is available for development—approximately 1,500 acres at approximately the northeast corner of State Highways 72 and 93, will develop with or without the completion of the beltway.