Central City Parkway

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Central City Parkway
Length:	8.4 mi^[1] (13 km)
Formed:	2003
South end:	Interstate 70 Exit 243
North end:	Colorado State Highway 279
Counties:	Clear Creek, Gilpin
Major cities:	Central City

The Central City Parkway is a four-lane highway in Colorado, running from I-70 near Idaho Springs to the historic mining town and gambling area of Central City. Opened on November 19, 2004, the Parkway provides direct access to Central City. The length of the Parkway is 8.4 miles (13 km), and it can be traveled in about twelve minutes.

[edit] History

Limited-stakes gambling was approved by Colorado voters in 1990 in the towns of Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek. Black Hawk lies a mile closer to the Denver area along Colorado State Highway 119, the primary route to the area from Interstate 70, spurring planning for a direct route to Central City from I-70 that began in 1993.^[1]

In the mid-1990s, the city of Black Hawk backed a proposal for a state-funded widening of Highway 119 including a tunnel that would link to I-70 one mile closer to Denver than Central City's off-ramp.^[2] Central City continued with its plans for a south access highway despite the city of Black Hawk acquiring land in the path of the proposed road. The issue was brought before a Denver grand jury that decided Black Hawk officials had misspent taxpayer money. Central City then sued Black Hawk for $100 million; Black Hawk countersued. Prior to dropping the lawsuit, the road was funded by bonds with a 30-year tax levy on business property to pay for the road.^[3]

Six months before the parkway opened, a report issued by gambling industry consultant Gaming & Resort Development predicted the road would be more beneficial to Black Hawk than to Central City.^[4]

Central City's gaming revenues have substantially increased since the road's opening in November 2004 but have not reached industry and city projections. Since the Parkway's opening, three casinos in Central City have opened and two, under the same ownership, have closed (The Teller House in July 2005 and Scarlet's Casino in September 2006).^[5] Century Casinos opened in July, 2006.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Flynn, Kevin (2003-10-04). "Highway to link Central City, I-70". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
^ O'Driscoll, Patrick (2004-07-23). Colo. town bets big on road. USA Today 3A. Retrieved on January 31, 2007.
^ Kelly, David (2004-11-20). Placing Its Bets on a Parkway. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
^ Palermo, William J. (2004). A Tale of Two Cities: An in-depth analysis of the market dynamics and outlook for Central City & Black Hawk. Gaming & Resort Development, Inc.. Retrieved on January 31, 2007. “Without additional master planning, Black Hawk is likely to benefit more directly from the new South Access Highway than is Central City.”
^ Vuong, Andy (2006-09-06). Second Central City casino folds. Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2006-12-13. Retrieved on January 31, 2007.