A document has been published that spells out phasing and financing of road improvements near the proposed Cabela’s in Wheat Ridge.
Projects costing about $94 million are planned, with Wheat Ridge, the Colorado Department of Transportation, Jefferson County, a special district and developers footing the bill.
The improvements, which aim to remedy long-standing traffic problems and to serve proposed development southwest of Interstate 70 and Colorado 58, were studied in an environmental assessment by the Federal Highway Administration and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Some of the improvements are long overdue, such as completing the I-70/Colorado 58 interchange and relieving congestion on West 32nd Avenue at I-70, said Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky.
“These have been identified in our plans or off our plans for years,” McCasky said. “They will enhance traffic movement and provide new commerce opportunities.”
Wheat Ridge Mayor Jerry Di Tullio agreed, saying the improvements will benefit the entire area.
“Central Jefferson County has really been ignored on road improvements for the last 15 to 20 years, and now is the time to step up to the plate and get them done,” DiTullio said Thursday.
The Wheat Ridge City Council has voted to require that road improvements near the Cabela’s site must be done before the outfitter can open.
The requirement is treasured by residents of nearby Applewood, Fairmount and unincorporated Jefferson County neighborhoods concerned about further traffic congestion.
Cabela’s wants to build a 185,000-square-foot “retail detestination showroom” on 40 acres near the I-70/Colorado 58 intersection. The outfitter expects to attract 35,000 vehicles on weekends and 24,000 on weekdays.
The environmental assessment also supports a new “front door” to Cabela’s off of Colorado 58 west of Eldridge Street, building a new road called Cabela’s Drive, widening Youngfield Street, building an I-70 underpass at West 44th Avenue, widening West 32nd Avenue at I-70 and reconfiguring interstate ramps.
Until the document is finished and the 45-day comment period is over, “we won’t know what it means,” said Cabela’s spokesman Joe Arterburn.
As for opening the store, Arterburn said Cabela’s can’t set a date, although he added that completing it by the end of 2007 “probably would be pushing it.”
“There has been a good team effort between us and the state and federal agencies and local groups,” Arterburn said.
The environmental assessment can be viewed at public libraries in Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Golden; county offices; city offices in Lakewood and Wheat Ridge; the Federal Highway Administration; and CDOT offices. It also is available online at www.cabwheatridge.com.
A public hearing is planned from 4 to 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, 4005 Kipling St.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
