A full-scale test run this morning of the upcoming detour for dropping off passengers at Denver International Airport promised to provide insights to how it will work in reality.
As the final simulation, today’s practice runs included drivers confused about where to go, ambulance calls, bungled curbside parking and people being a bit less friendly with the police officers directing traffic.
“Computer simulations are great, but it’s very difficult to model people,” said Stu Williams , project manager of the South Terminal Redevelopment Program. “This gives everybody a feel of how this will work.”
Beginning on June 2 , the west side Level 6 passenger dropoff and Level 4 passenger pickup areas will be closed for about a year. Once completed, work shifts to the east side for a year. The closures are being done to accommodate construction of the south terminal expansion project.
Ramps to those areas from Pena Boulevard to the south end of the main terminal will be demolished and reconfigured to allow construction of a 500-room hotel, a commuter-rail transit station and a plaza connecting the project to the terminal.
Real-time scenarios simulating various traffic flows and emergency response involved about 80 vehicles. They ran the scenario in an area south and east of the terminal.
A minor detour planned for the westside Level 4 pickup area involves exiting Pena onto a road with traffic using a separate lane through the parking garage to access the usual pickup area.
The westside Level 6 dropoff area was more challenging, Williams said. It involves exiting Pena with a left-hand turn onto a road that wraps around the west economy lot. Traffic then enters the Level 6 dropoff area, makes a U-turn and exits as usual.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
