/ Financial / USDOT Announces $25 Million Infrastructure Investment in Aurora

USDOT Announces $25 Million Infrastructure Investment in Aurora

Parul Dubey on November 13, 2019 - in Financial, News

AURORA – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao today announced that the Trump Administration will invest $900 million in American infrastructure through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program. This includes an award of $25 million to Aurora for the I-70/Picadilly Interchange project.

“The Administration is targeting BUILD Transportation grants to repair, rebuild, and revitalize significant infrastructure projects across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.

Fiscal Year 2019 BUILD Transportation grants are for investments in surface transportation infrastructure and have been awarded on a competitive basis to projects with a significant impact in their local or regional communities. BUILD funding supports roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports or intermodal transportation.  

The project will realign Picadilly Road and construct a new bridge over I-70 as well as a diverging-diamond interchange. The project also removes an existing partial interchange at Colfax Avenue, and adds signalized intersections and auxiliary lanes within the project area. The project will replace the current Colfax Avenue interchange, and the ramp reconfiguration is expected to reduce crashes.

The project will provide rural communities with improved access to job opportunities and its role in the “Colorado Aerotropolis” will ease congestion in an area where the number of jobs is expected to increase from 10,000 to 74,000 by 2040. The bicycle and pedestrian path through the diverging-diamond interchange will provide safe and accessible infrastructure for the northeast Denver metro area and will improve safety and quality of life for non-motorized users.

The program selection criteria encompassed safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, state of good repair, environmental sustainability, innovation, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders.  For this round of BUILD grants, the maximum grant award is $25 million, and no more than $90 million can be awarded to a single State.

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