A Portuguese company has signed a 99-year lease to operate the Northwest Parkway, a 9-mile toll road connecting Interstate 25 with the Boulder Turnpike.
The lease agreement, valued at $603 million, eliminates all debt on the 4-year-old road and provides funding for a proposal to extend the parkway another 2.3 miles southwest to Colorado 128.
That would leave a short gap in a proposed beltway encircling metro Denver along with C-470 and E-470. The highly controversial gap extends from the Boulder Turnpike west through Golden to where C-470 begins at its intersection with Interstate 70.
The lease was approved in May by the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority to turn over operation of the toll road to Brisa Auto-Estrada de Portugal/Companhia de Concessoes Rodoviarias.
According to the authority, the lease “includes retiring all outstanding bonds, provides funds for authority members, allows for payment on other pre-existing obligations and transfers all financial and operational responsibilities for the road to Brisa/CCR.
“This concession agreement not only resolves current financial obligations but also ensures that our best efforts will be made to extend the toll road in the future,” said Lafayette Mayor Chris Berry, who also is a voting member of the authority.
“This extension process will help the Northwest Parkway reach its potential as a major transportation authority corridor for metro Denver.”
