E-470

E-470
Route information
Maintained by E-470 Public Highway Authority
Length:	46.950 mi[1] (75.559 km)
Existed:	1991 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-25 / US 87 / SH 470 in Lone Tree
	I-70 / US 36 / US 40 / US 287 in Aurora I-76 / US 6 in Commerce City US 85 in Brighton
North end:	I-25 / US 87 / Northwest Parkway in Thornton
Highway system
Colorado State Highways ← SH 470 US 491 →

E-470 is a 47-mile-long (76 km) controlled-access toll road traversing the eastern portion of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area in the US state of Colorado. The toll road is not a state highway, but is instead maintained by the E-470 Public Highway Authority, which is controlled by a governing board of ten elected officials, three from each county and one from Aurora. Construction and operation involves no state or federal funding or taxes.

Route description

The tollway begins at the I-25 / SH 470 interchange in Lone Tree and runs east and north through Aurora, intersecting with I-70. The highway continues north, passing west of Denver International Airport to connect with I-76 in Brighton and Commerce City before curving west and ending at an interchange with I-25 and the Northwest Parkway in Thornton.

The 470 beltway

E-470 is the eastern portion of what was originally conceived as I-470, an outer beltway for metropolitan Denver. The quasi-government entity that manages the highway, the E-470 Public Highway Authority, consists of eight member jurisdictions: Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties and the cities of Aurora, Brighton, Commerce City, Thornton, and the town of Parker. In addition to all of these jurisdictions, E-470 also passes through the City and County of Denver near Denver International Airport. Affiliate, non-voting members of the Authority, which the highway does not directly serve, are the cities of Arvada and Greeley, and Weld County and the City and County of Broomfield. Ex-officio members are the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Denver Regional Council of Governments and the Regional Transportation District. The authority is headquartered in Aurora.

Tolls

The toll rate on E-470, roughly 36 cents per mile, is one of the highest rates of any toll road in the United States.^[2][3] There are six toll stations along the 47-mile (76 km) route and the average toll to pass each is $3.33.^[2] Traveling the entire length of the road from I-25 in the north to I-25 in the south can cost in excess of $16.65 one way. The toll stations no longer accept cash; E-470 was one of the first highways in the United States to implement full highway-speed electronic tolling.^[4] Cameras at each station photograph the front and rear license plate of each vehicle. A bill is mailed after approximately 30 days to the registered owner of the vehicle in accordance with C.R.S 43-4-506.5 (6)(a).^[5] Failure to pay the bill on time results in a $5 late fee after 30 days, followed by a $15 collection fee after 60 days, and a $25 penalty after a total of five months, and then an additional $20 court charge after six months totaling a maximum penalty of $65 for each unpaid set of tolls.^[6]

Drivers with EXpressToll accounts, E-470's automated toll collection service, and transponders mounted on their vehicle save 20% on posted toll rates along E-470.^[7]

Rental hire car companies at Denver International Airport have been accused of over-charging unwitting visitors for unpaid tolls because of the road's cashless collection system.^[8]

History

Plans for this eastern extension of State Highway 470 gained momentum in the 1980s, as Denver moved forward with plans for a new international airport in its corridor. Recognizing the highway's development potential, a number of local governments joined together to create the E-470 Public Highway Authority, a quasi-governmental entity that would construct the highway. The highway would be financed through tolls, a relative rarity in the western U.S.

The first section, between I-25 in the south and Parker Road in Douglas County, opened to traffic June 1, 1991. Tolling began on July 15, making E-470 the first highway in the United States to implement open road electronic tolling.^[9] The highway was opened segment by segment until the final stretch connecting to I-25 in the north in Adams County opened on January 3, 2003.^[10]

E-470 at I-76

In its early years, traffic was light as the completed portion was short and traversed a largely undeveloped area. With the opening of Denver International Airport in 1995, E-470 came in as a direct route to the airport from the rapidly growing southern tier of the metropolitan area. Upon its completion, the highway provided the same access for northern Colorado, itself a high-growth area. However, perhaps the most significant growth in the region will occur in the E-470 corridor itself, which spawned numerous annexations by member cities; Commerce City, Colorado has doubled in land area in anticipation of this new development. In the coming decades, 250,000 new residents are expected along the E-470 corridor in Aurora alone, which would nearly double that city's population.

Up until 2006, E-470 had four signalized intersections with I-70 and its outer roads, which often got congested at peak hours. By 2004 this interchange proved too inadequate for the traffic it was receiving. The Fly-By was completed in 2006 and allows customers to bypass the signals if continuing on E-470. Traffic going to or from I-70 still uses the old road and intersections, although E-470 is currently in the process of designing a direct connection with I-70. In 2007, Ramp H was completed, providing a direct connection from Northbound E-470 to Westbound I-70. The I-70/E-470 Fly-By Interchange Complex in Aurora was recognized by the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) with a National Design Build Award in 2008.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Douglas	Lone Tree	0.000	0.000	1A	I-25 – Denver, Colorado Springs SH 470	South end of E-470; roadway continues as west SH 470
				1B	Jamaica Street to County Line Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1.711	2.754	2	Peoria Street – Centennial Airport
		2.700	4.345	Toll Plaza A
	Stonegate	3.502	5.636	3	Chambers Road
	Stonegate– Parker	4.380	7.049	4	Jordan Road – Parker
	Parker	5.180	8.336	5	SH 83 (Parker Road) – Parker, Centennial, Aurora
Arapahoe	Aurora	8.887	14.302	9	Gartrell Road
		10.683	17.193	10	Smoky Hill Road
		13.352	21.488	13	Quincy Avenue – Aurora
		16.150	25.991	Toll Plaza B
		16.451	26.475	16	Jewell Avenue to Iliff Avenue
		19.000	30.578	19	6th Parkway
Arapahoe– Adams		20.375	32.790	20	I-70 / Colfax Avenue, 19th Avenue, Gun Club Road – Limon, Aurora, Denver	Northbound exits signed as 20A (east) and 20B (west), southbound exit 20, no toll either direction
Adams		22.610	36.387	Toll Plaza C
		24.477	39.392	24	56th Avenue – Front Range Airport
		25.523	41.075	25	64th Avenue
City and County of Denver		27.849	44.819	28	Peña Boulevard – Denver International Airport	Signed as exits 28A (east) and 28B (west)
Adams	Commerce City			Toll Plaza D
		30.562	49.185	31	96th Avenue
		32.678	52.590	32	104th Avenue
		34.130	54.927	34	To I-76 west / 120th Avenue
	Commerce City– Brighton	35.491	57.117	35	I-76 east – Fort Morgan	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Brighton	38.465	61.903	38	US 85 to I-76 west – Brighton, Greeley, Commerce City, Denver
	Todd Creek	40.220	64.728	Toll Plaza E
	Thornton	43.817	70.517	43	Colorado Boulevard – Thornton
		44.843	72.168	45	York Street
		46.398– 46.950	74.670– 75.559	47	I-25 – Fort Collins, Denver Northwest Parkway	North end of E-470; roadway continues west as Northwest Parkway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       ETC       Incomplete access

See also

• Colorado portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References

External links

• Official Website
• Federal Highway Administration Case Study
• Denver's 470 Saga