federal funding secured for major aurora roadway project

The well-travelled Picadilly Road, running north to south in Aurora, may eventually become even busier, now that the city is getting money from Washington to build a new interchange connecting it with Interstate 70.

The interchange has been in the talking and planning stage for more than a decade and will be designed to enhance the traffic flow on Picadilly as it connects with I-70.

According to a City of Aurora release, the project will “unlock a roadway network” connecting vehicles not only with the Denver International Airport, but also the larger Colorado Aerotropolis.

The project will also include the construction of a new nearly two-mile section of Picadilly between Colfax Avenue and Smith Road.

A new bike and pedestrian path is additionally scheduled to be built, slicing through the diamond-shaped interchange.

In transforming Picadilly into a major artery, the project will also accommodate what is expected to be increased traffic from the city’s growing population, which is projected to increase from its current 374,000 to more than 400,000 in the next five years.

Aurora is receiving for the project exactly $25 million in funding from the federal Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development program grants.

Local matching funds will bring the total cost of the project to around $56.6 million.

Work on the Picadilly/I-70 exchange project is expected to begin in the late summer of 2021.

By Garry Boulard

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