New life on Fitzsimons has also brought new traffic headaches to the area. Every day, thousands of cars on Peoria Street cross the bumpy railroad tracks at Smith Road.
In fact, with more than 40,000 cars each day, that stretch of Peoria is one of the busiest in northwest Aurora and a crucial artery heading to and from the Anschutz Medical Campus.
That heavy load is why local officials are hoping the public, including people who use Peoria to get to Anschutz, will offer input on how a massive construction project in the area should move forward.
Next week, the agencies involved in the project — including the cities of Denver and Aurora, RTD, and the Union Pacific Railroad — are hosting a public meeting to discuss the planned train stop and new crossing on Peoria near Smith Road. The open-house meeting is scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 8 at Park Lane Elementary School, 13001 E. 30th Ave. Presentations are scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“We hope that a wide variety of people who utilize and experience the conditions along Peoria Street attend,” said Christine Downs, a spokeswoman for Denver Public Works.
The $50 million project includes a new crossing across Smith, which could see crews build an overpass, underpass or keep the current street-level rail crossing.
Downs said that if the project is approved for construction, officials anticipate construction starting next spring. The city hopes to have work complete by late 2014.
Pauletta Tonilas, a spokeswoman for RTD’s FasTracks project, said the transit authority hopes to have work complete on the rail stop at Peoria and East 30th Avenue in 2016. The rail stop will be part of the East Rail Line, which will run a commuter train along the I-70 corridor to Denver International Airport. Tonilas said officials also hope the site will include a light rail stop from the incomplete I-225 line.
But before commuters can take a train to the area, they will likely have to endure some construction-related delays as crews re-route Peoria.
Under the current plan, which was revised this spring based on input from area businesses and residents, Peoria will get a bridge over Smith slightly to the west of the road’s current location. Downs said that will provide a two-way access road to the businesses along the east side of the bridge, further minimizing property impacts, and provide additional access to Peoria Street at 38th and 39th avenues.
“In addition, the shift to the west provides for more opportunities to construct the bridge while keeping travel lanes open along Peoria Street during construction,” she said.
That’s important, Downs said, because officials hope Peoria, a critical artery into the increasingly busy Fitzsimons campus, remains open during the year-long project.
“It is the intent of the agencies to keep Peoria Street open to traffic during construction, and the refinement in design to shift the alignment farther west enables traffic to remain on Peoria while the new travel lanes are constructed,” she said.
For more on the project, visit www.denvergov.org/PeoriaStreet.
Reach reporter Brandon Johansson at 720-449-9040 or bjohansson@aurorasentinel.com