Peña Boulevard

Federico Peña Boulevard

Peña Boulevard highlighted in red
Maintained by City and County of Denver
Length 11.1 mi[1] (17.9 km)
West end I‑70 / I‑225 in Aurora
Major
junctions		 E-470 in Denver
East end Denver International Airport
Construction
Completion 1993

Federico Peña Boulevard, named for former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, is a 11.1-mile-long (17.9 km) freeway located in Adams County and the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The freeway, which opened in 1993, provides the only vehicular access into the Denver International Airport which opened at the same time. Peña Boulevard begins as an extension of Airport Boulevard in Aurora at an interchange with Interstate 70 (I-70) and travels north, then east to an end at the airport, with an intermediate interchange with the E-470 tollway.

Route description

Peña Boulevard begins at an interchange with I-70 in Aurora as a continuation of Airport Boulevard. The highway passes into the Gateway neighborhood of Denver, intersecting East 40th Avenue, which provides access to eastbound I-70 for travelers leaving the airport. Continuing north, an intersection with Green Valley Ranch Boulevard provides access to the like named neighborhood to the east of the freeway. East 56th Avenue is the final exit along Peña Boulevard before it turns east near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, and intersects Tower Road, which is home to several airport hotels.[1]

A full cloverleaf interchange with the tolled E-470 provides an alternate route to I-70 for travelers wishing to bypass Denver, and has a ten-mile-per-hour (16 km/h) higher speed limit than Peña Boulevard. The interchange with E-470 is the easternmost exit before entering the Denver International Airport. Once inside of the airport grounds, the freeway intersects the car rental return area, and comes to an end near the parking garages and terminal access roads.[1]

The segment of the freeway between I-70 and E-470 is listed on the National Highway System (NHS), a system of roads that are important to the nation's economy, defense and mobility. The portion between E-470 and the airport is listed as a MAP-21 NHS Principal Arterial.[2]

History

Construction on the $18 million (equivalent to $36 million in 2013)[3] freeway, which opened in 1995,[4] was halted for six weeks during Summer 1992 due to a family of Burrowing Owls living in the right-of-way near the interchange at 56th Avenue.[5] Ten-thousand people were employed during the construction of the airport and the connecting freeway.[6] Originally the toll booths that served the parking lots were located 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from the entrance to the airport causing delays for persons just dropping off people at the airport.[7] The toll booth was removed in 2000, and new booths were installed next to the actual exits from the airport parking garages.[8] Peña Boulevard is named for the former mayor of Denver, Federico Peña,[9] who was very influential in bringing about the construction of Denver International Airport.

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
AdamsAurora0.00.0 I‑70 west (US 36) / I‑225 south – Denver, Aurora, Colorado SpringsWestern terminus, No access from west Peña Boulevard to I-70 east.
City and County of Denver0.71.11 To I‑70 east (East 40th Avenue, Airport Boulevard) – Aurora, LimonEastbound exit only.
1.42.32Green Valley Ranch Boulevard
2.54.0356th Avenue
5.28.45Tower RoadNo access from Tower Road to westbound Peña Boulevard
6.510.56 E-470 to I‑70 – Colorado Springs, Boulder, Fort CollinsToll road
7.612.2Gun Club Road, East 75th Avenue, East 78th AvenueRental car return, eastbound exit and westbound entrance
9.415.1Jackson Gap Road-- Rental Car area
11.117.9Terminal West, Terminal EastEastern terminus, roadway continues to airport parking, terminals
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Google (December 26, 2010). "Peña Boulevard" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  2. ↑ National Highway System: Denver–Aurora CO (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. August 22, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ United States nominal Gross Domestic Product per capita figures follow the Measuring Worth series supplied in Williamson, Samuel H. (2015). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved April 15, 2015. These figures follow the figures as of 2013.
  4. ↑ Flynn, Kevin (February 4, 1995). "Webb Opens New Airport's 1st Concourse". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  5. ↑ Accola, John (October 8, 1992). "Owls Move Out". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ Thurston, Scott (October 7, 1993). "Airport: Wisest or Dumbest Thing in Denver History". Austin American-Statesman. p. F2. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ Hodges; Kirksey, Jim (August 11, 1995). "20 DIA Cashiers Overcome by Fumes Toll Booth Closed". Denver Post. p. B1. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Leib, Jeffrey (April 11, 2000). "DIA Tollbooths Moving Closer to Terminal". Denver Post. p. B1. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ "It's Pena Boulevard". Rocky Mountain News. September 4, 1992. Retrieved December 26, 2010.

External links

Route map: Bing