With its abrupt stop just before Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora’s Sixth Avenue is just a few miles away from being a thruway east to E-470.

Now, after decades of planning, an agreement between the city and the E-470 Public Highway Authority will close that two-mile gap in the city’s road network for an initial cost of $19.9 million.

Under the agreement, the public highway authority will provide $2 million and a $2-million loan for construction of the project. As part of the agreement, the city will pay the authority $228,500 annually. The loan’s term is 10 years with a 2.5-percent interest rate, compounded annually. The city has budgeted the IGA into its 2016 city budget, with plans to start annual payments for the loan in 2018 as part of the capital improvement plan.

The city’s proposed route will extend over Aurora’s open spaces that include the future Triple Creek regional trail. The city is in the works of conducting an environmental assessment of the area that will be completed later this spring, according to city officials.

Dennis Eden, a special projects manager with Aurora’s Public Works department, said the route was chosen in part to adhere to National Environmental Policy Act guidelines.

City of Aurora officials have planned for the extension since 1987 and held numerous meetings with residents since 2014 about the planned path of the extension. A final public meeting will be held in the spring of this year.

“Better late than never,” said Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan. “I’m very pleased that the E-470 authority provided the final link in the ability to get it going this year.”

Dan Christopherson, a spokesman for E-470, said the agreement will benefit the highway authority, making getting to and from E-470 more convenient for drivers.

“In addition, a recent traffic and revenue study performed for us showed the added toll revenue generated by the extension to E-470 would be enough to repay our investment in a relatively short period of time,” he said.

Eden said the city anticipates construction on the project to begin in 2018.

To learn more and see the chosen extension route go to www.auroragov.org/6thaveparkway or call 720-200-8929.  Questions can be emailed to 6thavepkwy@fhueng.com.