Request for Qualifications Issued for Big Avenue Widening Project in Denver

A Request for Qualifications has been issued for a project that will add two lanes to a busy four-lane east to west throughway in Denver.

The project on 56th Avenue will be bordered by Peoria Street to the west and Pena Boulevard to the east.

As planned, the project will also see the building of a multi-use path that will be designed to connect with area bike lanes and a trail system within the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Funding for the project is coming out of the massive $937 million general obligation bond project approved by Denver voters in the fall of 2017 known as Elevate Denver.

That bond, in the years since its passage, has been used to pay for any number of road, sidewalk, library, park, and recreation center construction and upgrade projects throughout the city.

Work on the 56th Avenue widening will additionally include the building of curbs and gutters, as well as drainage, utilities, and lighting systems.

Not only one of the busiest streets in Denver, 56th Avenue is also a major connecting route between downtown Denver on the west and the Denver International Airport to the east.

City documents indicate that 56th Avenue seerves up to 24,000 vehicles a day.

The RFQ has a submission deadline of January 8.
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It is thought that work on the widening project will begin before next spring, with a completion date of late 2023.

​By Garry Boulard

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