Like many of my neighbors, I came to Colorado to enjoy the pristine mountains, the powdery snow and the wildlife. I like watching the bighorn sheep butt heads and listening to the elk bugle.
When I moved here, I didn’t think much about the problems that growth would pose in undercutting the qualities that lured me here. Now, after living in the Interstate 70 corridor for nearly 30 years, I am very worried.
My little house in Idaho Springs sits less than half a block north of I-70.
I understand travelers’ frustrations. While I can avoid weekend trips to ski lodges, my job often requires me to drive I-70 east on Sunday evenings and west on Saturday mornings. I’m also aware that the weekend crawl is getting worse. So, assuming expanded capacity is necessary, I worry that cost, rather than environmental and community issues, will determine the solution.
For several years now, the Colorado Department of Transportation has been investigating options for I-70 that could ruin the delight of small-town living. CDOT issued a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that investigates a variety of ideas, ranging from no action, alternate routes, minimal upgrades, highway expansion, and rapid transit systems. CDOT has already eliminated some choices, like the alternate routes. Twenty remaining alternatives have been labeled ” preferred” or “not preferred.” Highway options include six-lane highways and reversible high occupancy lanes. The transit group includes various busing configurations, railroads, and an elevated high-speed system, called an advanced guideway system.
Over the years, as the traffic on I-70 has increased, so too has the noise. I used to visit with friends on my front porch. Now, the roar from diesels and whizzing cars preclude such a luxury. Two summers ago, I attended a CDOT public meeting in the Idaho Springs City Hall. This non-air-conditioned building is located as far from I-70 as my house. Windows and doors stood open to the breeze. The CDOT representative soon requested closing the doors because of the horrendous noise emanating from I-70.
According to the impact statement, the advanced guideway system would barely increase the current noise pollution, while highway widening would raise noise levels significantly.
In addition, more highway lanes and more vehicles will magnify the air pollution through our valley. Highway widening will require additional magnesium chloride and sand for winter maintenance, which, in turn, pollutes our streams. A wider highway also infringes on habitat. All these environmental factors would be impacted much less by the advanced guideway system.
The Clear Creek Economic Development Corporation stated that residents of Clear Creek County will endure the most severe consequences during the 15- year construction term. The highway widening options will create the greatest negative impact. The advanced guideway system would cause considerably less disruption.
Unfortunately, Clear Creek will be the county that benefits least by the anticipated economic growth. Is it any wonder that many residents prefer less intrusive solutions? In May, representatives from the I-70 corridor counties drafted a proposal to CDOT calling for minimal highway upgrades and further investigation into an elevated transit system. Former Clear Creek County Commissioner JoAnn Sorensen said, “There was unanimous agreement that, in the long term, the answer is not continuing to pave this county.”
But CDOT seems enamored with highway widening. The impact statement lists the advanced guideway as a non-preferred alternative because its estimated installation cost of $6.15 billion exceeds CDOT’s ceiling of $4 billion. However, in 2004, a different study (by the Colorado MagLev Project and sponsored by the Federal Transportation Administration) produced a much lower estimate to build the advanced guideway system, $4.2 billion.
Since the impact statement doesn’t assign a dollar value to clean water, quiet mountain communities, or healthy wildlife, we citizens must estimate their worth ourselves. Perhaps CDOT can be persuaded to direct more effort into protecting the reasons why we love Colorado.
After all, whatever the price of upgrading the I-70 corridor, the beauty of our mountains is priceless.
Ann Zimmerman (amz80452@att.net) is a maintenance electrician at the Coors Brewery in Golden. The draft impact statement is available at www.i70mtncorridor.com.
