Brighton – A racetrack proposed for Adams County 24 years ago first sparked the notion of extending East 120th Avenue.
While the racetrack idea has long passed, the wait for the roadway’s expansion finally ended last week.
Adams County opened the $40 million extension of East 120th Avenue between Quebec Street and U.S. 85 to motorists, creating a major transportation link in the north metro area.
Motorists – about 15,000 a day – will be able to travel from Boulder County to the north entrance of Denver International Airport and continue out into the eastern part of Adams County, making connections along the way to U.S. 85, Interstate 76 and E-470.
Commuting times will be cut significantly in the area because before the extension opened, motorists had to use Riverdale Road and East 128th and East 124th avenues to gain access to the three main highways.
“It’s a much more direct connection from the west to the east,” said Mindy Crane, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The largest road project in the metro area outside of T-REX, the 2.8-mile extension is notable for its sensitivity to the natural environment, said Adams County Commission chairwoman Alice Nichol.
The roadway crosses the South Platte River at a location that best reduces negative effects to wetland and floodplain, while avoiding bald eagle roosts and burrowing owl and other raptor nests, she said.
The county did this by building a bridge long enough – close to 690 feet long – to minimize environmental impacts. It’s the longest bridge over the South Platte River in the Denver area, officials said.
“Adams County’s goal was to design a project that would be responsive to the needs of our citizens and adjacent jurisdictions and yet be sensitive to the natural environment as we cross the South Platte River basin,” Nichol said.
The county also acquired and developed its first permanent site for prairie dog relocation. And crews replaced every tree the project took out and created more wetland than existed before, Nichol said.
A trail north of the roadway will tie into the South Platte River trail and add to the future expansion of the Adams County Regional Park complex.
Funds for the project came from county and federal sources as well as from the cities of Brighton, Commerce City, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster.
Adams County proposed extending 120th in 1982 when it was in the running for a proposed horse track near Adams County Regional Park.
The racetrack went elsewhere, but residents wanted to see the extension as Adams County grew, said Ruth Kedzior, assistant county administrator. Almost a quarter of a century later, that wish came true.
“It was a big day for a lot of people,” Kedzior said.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
