A major — Arapahoe Road at Interstate 25 — came to an official close Thursday, seven months ahead of schedule.
A gathering of officials threw hard hats into the air at a morning ceremony to mark the completion of the $66 million project, in which workers rebuilt the I-25 bridge over Arapahoe Road and put in three through lanes in each direction on Arapahoe Road.
According to state traffic counts, I-25 sees more than 250,000 vehicles a day pass through the interchange on any given day while Arapahoe Road accommodates 70,000 vehicles a day there.
The project, and was originally set to wrap this summer, was funded by CDOT’s Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships program and local matches from Arapahoe County, Centennial, Greenwood Village and the Southeast Public Improvement Metropolitan District. The contractor on the overhaul was Kraemer North America.
The interchange revamp also added an additional westbound lane on Arapahoe Road from Yosemite Street to Greenwood Plaza Boulevard; widened Yosemite Street from Yosemite Circle to Xanthia Street; put up two noise walls; and provided triple left turns from the I-25 off ramps.
There is a final punch list to complete on site, including landscaping, scheduled for the spring.