Some Upset With 'Dangerous' C-470 Expansion Project
By Tom Mustin
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4) - About 100,000 drivers pass through C-470 in Douglas County every day. Now the controversial plan to widen the lane is coming under fire from homeowners. They say the construction has caused increased noise and traffic, along with dangerous road conditions.
Some Highlands Ranch homeowners have had enough of the C-470 expansion project.
"The traffic is horrendous," September Oslund told CBS4's Tom Mustin.
The two and a half year project will add express lanes on C-470 from Wadsworth to Interstate 25.
September Oslund says the construction is literally in her back yard, "You can literally wave to the guys working on the road from our house."
After five months of construction, September says traffic, noise and safety issues have gotten out of hand.
"It's just kind of affected the quality of life. I get up at 4 a.m. and it is noisy. I come home it's noisy, and at night it's noisy," said September.
Monday morning a six-car pileup off Quebec, in the construction zone, backed up traffic for miles.
Dan Nicholson is part of a neighborhood coalition that fought to delay the project. He says gridlock and hazardous conditions are now a way life on C-470.
"This morning you saw what happened out there. So I think that's going to be par for the course for the commuters," said Nicholson.
Amy Ford with the Colorado Department Of Transportation says engineers have made the project as safe as possible. Drivers have to do their part as well.
"Our commitment to the public is that we keep traffic moving even during construction," said Ford. "We do that by maintaining the same amount of lanes, but you're going to see lane shifts and the like. That's where we're asking the public to pay attention."
And with two more years of construction left, Dan says all residents can do is slow down, pay attention, and pack some patience.
"We can all Monday morning quarterback it, and say yeah we should have done this 20 years ago, but who knew how fast Denver was going to grow. Now it's here. This is how we roll in Colorado," said Nicholson.
CDOT says Monday's crash appears to be due to sun glare, and not construction. The expansion project is slated to be finished in mid-2019.
Tom Mustin is CBS4's Weekend Anchor. He has been with CBS4 since 2002, and is always looking for great story ideas. Connect with Tom on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @TomCBS4.