Peña Boulevard

Federico Peña Boulevard

Peña Boulevard highlighted in red
Maintained by City and County of Denver
Length 11.1 mi[1] (17.9 km)
West end I-70 / I-225 in Aurora
Major
junctions		 E-470 in Denver
East end Denver International Airport
Construction
Completion 1993

Federico Peña Boulevard, named for former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, is a 11.1-mile-long (17.9 km) freeway located in Adams County and the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The freeway, which opened in 1993, provides the primary vehicular access into Denver International Airport which opened at the same time. Peña Boulevard begins as an extension of Airport Boulevard in Aurora at an interchange with Interstate 70 (I-70) and travels north, then east to end at the airport, with an intermediate interchange with the E-470 tollway.

Route description

Denver International Airport's access highway Peña Boulevard begins at an interchange with I-70 in Aurora as a northern continuation of Airport Boulevard. The first highway interchange is at East 40th Avenue, which also provides traffic access to and from to Aurora's Airport Boulevard running to the south. Travelers leaving the airport use this exit for access to eastbound I-70 through the adjacent Airport Boulevard/I-70 interchange. Travelers inbound to the airport from I-70 East do not have access to the first interchange. Continuing north, the highway leaves Aurora and passes into the Denver Gateway[2][3] area, Aurora's Gateway Park development is adjacent. An interchange with Green Valley Ranch Boulevard provides access to the neighborhood of the same name. The East 56th Avenue interchange is the final exit along Peña Boulevard before it turns east near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, and reaches the interchange with Tower Road, which serves several airport hotels.[1]

A full cloverleaf interchange with the tolled E-470, which E-470 provides an alternate North-South route to I-25 for travelers wishing to bypass on the eastern side of Metropolitan Denver area. E-470 also intersects I-70 and has a ten-mile-per-hour (16 km/h) higher speed limit than Peña Boulevard. The interchange with E-470 is the easternmost exit before entering Denver International Airport. Once inside airport grounds, the freeway intersects the car rental return area, and connects to the parking garages and terminal access roads.[1]

The segment of the freeway between I-70 and E-470 is listed on the National Highway System (NHS), a system of roads that are important to the nation's economy, defense and mobility. The portion between E-470 and the airport is listed as a MAP-21 NHS Principal Arterial.[4]

History

Construction of the $18 million (equivalent to $38 million in 2015)[5] freeway, which opened in 1995,[6] was halted for six weeks during summer 1992 due to a family of burrowing owls living in the right-of-way near the interchange at 56th Avenue.[7] Ten thousand people were employed during the construction of the airport and the connecting freeway.[8] Originally the toll booths that served the parking lots were located 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from the entrance to the airport causing delays for persons just dropping off people at the airport.[9] The toll booth was removed in 2000, and new booths were installed at the exits of the airport parking garages.[10] Peña Boulevard was named for Federico Peña[11] because he was very influential in bringing about the construction of Denver International Airport.

Future

Construction of a westbound ramp from Tower Road is in the design process with an opening expected in 2018.[12]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
AdamsAurora0.00.0— I-70 west (US 36) to I-225 south – Denver, Colorado SpringsExit 284-on I-70
City and County of Denver0.71.11 40th Avenue / Airport Boulevard to I-70 east – AuroraWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
1.42.32Green Valley Ranch Boulevard
2.54.0356th Avenue
5.28.45Tower RoadNo westbound entrance
6.510.56 E-470 to I-70 – Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort CollinsSigned as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north); exit 28 on E-470
7.612.2— 75th Avenue – Rental Car Return, Cell Phone LotEastbound exit and westbound entrance
9.415.1— Jackson Gap Road – Rental Car Return, Air Cargo, General Aviation
11.117.9— Terminal West / Terminal EastRoadway divides for parking and terminals
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Google (December 26, 2010). "Peña Boulevard" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  2. ↑ "The Gateway Concept Plan, August 1990" (PDF). City and County of Denver. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Taylor, Mike. "Ready for Takeoff: Gateway Plan Bolstered by Visions of DIA 'Aerotropolis'". confluence-denver.com. Confluence Denver. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  4. ↑ National Highway System: Denver–Aurora CO (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. August 22, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ United States nominal Gross Domestic Product per capita figures follow the Measuring Worth series supplied in Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2016). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved April 10, 2016. These figures follow the figures as of 2015.
  6. ↑ Flynn, Kevin (February 4, 1995). "Webb Opens New Airport's 1st Concourse". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ Accola, John (October 8, 1992). "Owls Move Out". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Thurston, Scott (October 7, 1993). "Airport: Wisest or Dumbest Thing in Denver History". Austin American-Statesman. p. F2. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ Hodges; Kirksey, Jim (August 11, 1995). "20 DIA Cashiers Overcome by Fumes Toll Booth Closed". Denver Post. p. B1. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  10. ↑ Leib, Jeffrey (April 11, 2000). "DIA Tollbooths Moving Closer to Terminal". Denver Post. p. B1. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  11. ↑ "It's Pena Boulevard". Rocky Mountain News. September 4, 1992. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  12. ↑ Commerce City, Colorado. "Other Roads Projects". Commerce City, Colorado. Retrieved April 29, 2016.

Route map: Bing / Google

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