CDOT and FHWA publish Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for I-270 Corridor Improvements project

News Release

Sept. 8, 2026 - Denver/Central Colorado - Decision clears the way for design and construction on an aging six-mile highway segment linking I-25 and I-70

Denver - The Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration published the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the I-270 Corridor Improvements project, marking the end of a six-year environmental review on one of the Denver metro area’s busiest and oldest freight corridors.

The ROD finalizes the selected alternative for roughly six miles of Interstate 270 between Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 in Adams County, following extensive public comment and coordination with local governments, agencies and neighboring communities. CDOT anticipates advancing construction phasing beginning in fall 2026.

“I-270 has needed this kind of attention for a long time,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “Advancing from an Environmental Assessment to a full EIS in 2023 was the right call. This corridor and the neighborhoods around it deserved that deeper look. Every step since has been a partnership with Adams County, Commerce City, our federal partners at FHWA and most of all with the residents and businesses who showed up to community meetings, corridor tours and listening sessions and told us what this project needed to get right. This decision is a win for all of us, and it’s their input that shaped it.”

I-270 was built between 1965 and 1970 and no longer meets the demands of a corridor that now carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day. The project will construct two general-purpose lanes and one new express lane that accommodates transit in each direction, replace 12 aging bridges, rebuild the Vasquez Boulevard Interchange, add a new pedestrian overpass bridge and improve the on and off-ramp movements at I-76. The project is intended to modernize aging bridges and pavement, improve safety and make travel times more reliable for both commuters and freight movement through the corridor.

“This is an important next step toward needed improvements to the I-270 Corridor that will make a real difference for the people who live, work and travel along this corridor,” said Commissioner Julie Duran Mullica, Chair of the Adams County Board of Commissioners. “We’re grateful to CDOT and FHWA for their partnership and for listening to the communities that have called for improvements to I-270 for years, and have also emphasized that these improvements need to fit the real-world needs of the community. We’re excited to see this project move into its next phase and, ultimately, to see these long-needed improvements come to fruition for our residents, businesses and the entire region.”

CDOT and FHWA began the environmental process for the project in 2020, initially anticipating an EA. In 2023, the agencies determined a full EIS was warranted given the scope of potential impacts and requests from the public, and published a Notice of Intent in August 2024. The Draft EIS was released for a 60-day public comment period that closed Jan. 20, 2026, following community meetings, corridor tours, listening sessions and targeted outreach to disproportionately impacted communities along the corridor.

CDOT and FHWA received approximately 396 comments during the Draft EIS public comment period. A proposed alternative was also submitted via the public comment process that included making necessary safety improvements, such as widened shoulders, to the I-270 corridor while also making I-270 fully tolled. CDOT evaluated the proposed concept through various screening levels where it was determined that it did not meet the project’s purpose and need and was not considered for future evaluation.

Throughout the process, CDOT worked extensively with neighborhoods across the corridor to shape a set of nine complementary state commitments funded alongside the project. Those commitments span landscaping and aesthetics, enhanced air quality monitoring, support for community and environmental projects, improved work zones, travel demand management, freight efficiency, workforce development and local business support and ongoing public reporting.

Several community enhancements are already underway. CDOT has installed real-time air quality monitors at the I-270/Vasquez Boulevard interchange, Leyden Park and the Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, with data available to residents through the Love My Air app. A pilot mobility debit card program, launching this summer with 50 residents, will help cover transit passes and toll costs. And after hearing from residents and Adams County Commissioners, CDOT expanded a planned resurfacing project on Colorado Highway 224 into a full multimodal upgrade including adding sidewalks, lighting, ADA curb ramps, trail connections and a new pedestrian crossing over the Burlington Canal, which is slated for construction in 2027.

CDOT is also supporting a Commerce City microtransit pilot during construction and helping Adams 14 and Mapleton Public Schools pursue grant funding for electric school buses.

The FEIS and ROD are available for public review at codot.gov/projects/studies/i270study/feisrodstatereports. The I-270 Corridor Improvements project team will host a telephone town hall on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026 at 6 p.m. A call will be placed to nearly 133,000 residents who live along the corridor, inviting them to join the town hall where they will learn more about the final design and construction phasing. Callers will be able to ask the project team questions live. To join the town hall, the public is invited to call 855-756-7520, Ext. 135813#.

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