AURORA | The road — or interchange, at least — to thousands of more jobs in eastern Aurora is finally becoming a reality.
Last week the city got the word it’d won a $25 million federal grant for the I-70/Picadilly Interchange project, which they say is crucial to expanding business opportunities in the city’s “aerotroplis,” south of Denver International Airport.
The interchange project was proposed more than a decade ago to better connect residents to job opportunities in a growing eastern Aurora, where there are plans for 60,000 new residents in the Aurora Highlands, continued development around the Gaylord Rockies hotel and a 16-million-square-foot mixed-use development.
By 2040 it’s estimated the region will boast 74,000 more jobs. Currently, 18 million square feet of warehouse and industrial space supports about 10,000 jobs.
“It’s a very critical project to open that new frontier, so to speak,” Aurora Mayor Bob LeGare said. He highlighted the significance of the jobs that will be created in that region and the taxes those companies will pay, a rate at four times higher than residential property taxes, he said.
The project focuses on a new interchange at Picadilly Road and I-70, plus a connection of Picadilly Road between Colfax Avenue and Smith Road to connect to the new interchange.
The new interchange, which is slated to begin construction in August 2021, will also serve federally-designated Opportunity Zones in Aurora, specifically one that stretches from Tower Road out to Watkins along I-70. In May, a Connecticut-based industrial developer broke ground on a massive logistics center in that Opportunity Zone near Denver International Airport.
City leaders are hopeful international business setting up shop in eastern Aurora will be more likely because of the interchange, which will unlock a north and south flow of traffic.
Aurora Congressman Jason Crow announced the funding Wednesday, saying the grant is an example of how all levels of government can work together. He penned a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao lobbying for the grant while the city and state ramped up matching funds.
The city of Aurora has twice applied for federal grants, but perhaps a third time is a charm, LeGare said.
Crow said this time the city had more matching funds and partners on hand when applying. It also didn’t hurt that the federal government has beefed up its funds for local transportation projects, particularly for the BUILD grant the city applied for.
The federal grant aims to invest in transportation projects, including road, rail and ports, that have significant local and regional impact.
Mac Callison, transportation planning supervisor in the Aurora planning development services department, also looks at the project as vital for safety along the major corridor that serves business and commuters alike.
“The project will take some pressure off of the Tower Road interchange, which is heavily used today and will continue. So we see this as providing additional choices and relief of overburden (on our roadways),” he said.
Callison said the city has been working with a bevy of stakeholders to ensure that the project goes as smoothly as possible, especially given the Central 70 project between Chambers Road and I-25 that often has traffic backed up for miles. That 10-mile project is slated to end in 2022.