Colorado has broken ground on an $806 million rebuild of Interstate 270 in Adams County and north Denver, Governor Jared Polis, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Federal Highway Administration and contractor Kiewit Corporation announced.

Source: Colorado Department of Transportation via EIN Presswire

I-270 opened in 1965 and, according to CDOT, is the only interstate in Colorado that has never received a major upgrade. It now carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day — with heavy trucks making up roughly 8 to 17 percent of traffic — linking I-25, I-70 and I-76 and moving freight across the north-metro Denver area.

Source: CDOT I-270 project page

The project will replace 12 bridges built in the 1960s, rebuild the Vasquez Boulevard interchange, improve ramps at I-76, York Street and Quebec Street, and add one tolled Express Lane in each direction alongside two free general-purpose lanes. CDOT says its bridges have needed 160 planned maintenance activities and 65 emergency repairs over the past decade.

Source: Engineering News-Record

$806 milliontotal construction cost
100,000+vehicles a day
12bridges to be replaced
2033expected completion

Construction begins this fall with earthwork, followed by major bridge construction in spring 2027, and the full program is expected to conclude in 2033. During early Phase 1 work, from late October 2026 to spring 2027, drivers can expect overnight single-lane closures, shoulder closures and daytime flagging on nearby Brighton Boulevard — but no daytime closures on I-270 itself, CDOT said.

For truckers who run the Denver freight corridors, the work matters twice over: years of lane restrictions on a choked route first, then wider shoulders, safer merges and faster crash clearance at the end. Funding combines state and federal money, including about $170 million in federal funds, and the Federal Highway Administration cleared the project on September 8 after a six-year environmental review.

Source: Engineering News-Record