new rail park proposed for far east side of denver

A major mining and metals industry company has announced plans to build a 600-acre industrial rail park in Watkins, Colorado, some 24 miles to the east of Denver.

Rocky Mountain Industrials, headquartered in the Mile High City, says it wants to build the facility next to the Colorado Air and Space Port, which is located at 5200 Front Range Parkway, with an eye to also constructing up to 7 miles of rail track.

That rail track, on land that is adjacent to existing Union Pacific Railroad tracks, would be used for the transportation of any number of raw materials and goods.

What could ultimately be a $100 million project will also include the laying out of individual lots and building of infrastructure at the site.

Rocky Mountains Industrials produces limestone from a quarry it owns near Glenwood Springs. Plans call for transporting the limestone 180 miles from the quarry to the industrial rail park once it becomes operational for distribution to other locations.

The project, which has been in the planning stage for more than a year, would be built on an inland port principle that could be used by any number of distribution and manufacturing companies.
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Work could begin on the park, pending the final approval of Adams County officials, in the fall of this year. 

​By Garry Boulard

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