Opposition to CDOT’s plan to widen I-70 through Denver

“Ditch the delay on I-70 expansion,” July 18 editorial.

The Denver Post’s fawning editorial about the Colorado Department of Transportation’s conduct related to the I-70 expansion project cannot go unanswered. CDOT has put all its eggs in the wrong basket. Its analysis of alternatives was inadequate, merely ratifying its bias in favor of expanding the highway in its existing alignment. No wonder CDOT had to pony up sweeteners for the impacted neighborhoods, which have unjustly borne the brunt of pollution and disruption for decades since they were carved apart by I-70 and I-25.

Your faith in the project proponents’ solutions to stormwater issues is naive and misplaced. Unless the courts intervene, CDOT’s attempt to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act will impose an unwanted floodway on neighborhoods affected by the Platte to Park Hill drainage project and irretrievably harm the historic City Park Golf Course.

Fourteen years of analysis leading to the wrong conclusions does not justify proceeding in the wrong direction.

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Your editorial opposing a delay in the construction of the $1.2 billion expansion of Interstate 70 for two additional lanes of traffic for Cadillacs, Beemers and Mercedes ignores the value of what is being destroyed.

An impoverished community which has managed to survive successive attacks by the city and county of Denver could be a model for our approach to dealing with poverty. Instead, we will cast it to the four winds in the interests of 1 percent of our population who can afford to be in a hurry.

While the loss of a golf course and the flooding of Globeville are also well on the downside of the expected effects of the new traffic jam, the loss of a human community will be infinitely more damaging to the city. Send letters of 150 words or fewer to openforum@ denverpost.com or 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 800, Denver, CO, 80202. Please include full name, city and phone number. Contact information is for our purposes only; we will not share it with anyone else. You can reach us by phone at 303-954-1331.