West end: US 36 in Broomfield | Length 14.57 km | |
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East end: I-25 / E-470 in Broomfield Counties Broomfield, Boulder County, Colorado | ||
The Northwest Parkway is a 9-mile (14 km) road running from the intersection of I-25 and E-470 to US 36. Both termini are in Broomfield, Colorado, northwest of Denver. In combination with E-470 (47 miles) and SH 470 (27 miles), the Northwest Parkway forms a partial beltway of approximately 83 miles (134 km) around the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. Some 18 miles (29 km) lie between the west end of the Northwest Parkway and the northwest end of SH 470, the opposite end of the beltway.
Contents
The Northwest Parkway was funded entirely with private money and charges a $3.50 toll. Tolls may be paid using highway-speed electronic tolling.
Route description
Northwest Parkway begins as a continuation of E-470 westward. Following a stack interchange with Interstate 25, the parkway crosses Huron Street in suburban Broomfield, surrounded by fields. After intersecting Sheridan Parkway the route passes a small pond, followed by an intersection with Lowell Blvd. Near Dillon Road the parkway interchanges with U.S. Highway 287 in Lafayette before re-entering Broomfield near the end of the toll portion at 96th Street. The parkway continues untolled for one last mile (1.6 km) before terminating at an interchange with U.S. Route 36.
History
The Northwest Parkway opened to the public in November 2003. In November 2005, a new intersection opened at Sheridan Boulevard in northern Broomfield. In August 2001, the cities of Westminster and Arvada put into motion the completion of an extension of the Northwest Parkway, sometimes termed W-470, to connect to SH 470, I-70 and US 6 in Golden. The city of Golden struck down the proposal, but in a compromise with the Colorado Department of Transportation, an environmental impact study is being done with a goal of CDOT to complete the beltway by 2015. Most likely, Indiana Street and SH 93 would be used to complete the beltway.
Lease to foreign consortium
In 2007, the board of directors of the Northwest Parkway agreed to lease the operations of the highway to a consortium for 99 years. The two companies of the consortium are Brisa - Auto-estradas de Portugal and Companhia de Concessões Rodoviárias. According to the Boulder Daily Camera, this was the fourth time in two years that operations of an existing toll road in the USA had been turned over to a private company under a long-term lease.
The Northwest Parkway had been consistently generating less income than envisioned when it was funded by three local governments — Broomfield, Lafayette, and Weld County. The parkway was built with $416.4 million in bonds, to be paid back with toll revenue over 35 years. Due to the road's under-utilization, the bond debt was downgraded in 2006. Utilization in 2007 was 12,000 cars per day, well below the 18,500 expected by 2004, one year after opening.