Two years after breaking ground on East Colfax, the first complete section of the bus rapid transit project will open to bus-only lane operations this Sunday.
The construction on one of Denver’s oldest and longest commercial streets has been marked by major changes to the street’s appearance, confusing traffic patterns and struggling businesses. After several businesses opened and closed, however, the street has maintained the same occupancy rate as before the construction, at 84% full, said Frank Locantore, executive director of the Colfax Ave Business Improvement District.
“The removal of cones and barrels and fencing and equipment is really going to be welcomed with a great sigh of relief,” he said. “Some (businesses) are hanging on by their fingertips.”
Locantore said that although many local restaurants, coffee shops and stores are struggling, few closures can be traced directly to the project. He added that it’s difficult to quantify whether the number of openings and closings the strip experienced during construction was normal or not, since the businesses are also still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It doesn’t seem outrageous,” he said of the openings and closings. “It clearly has been an impact, but it’s tough to measure.”
He highlighted several businesses that have recently opened, like Sadboy Creamery at Marion Street, Ma’s Kitchen Dim Sum & Bar at York Street and Pampered Paws at High Street.
The city provided grants to 152 businesses affected by the construction, amounting to nearly $2 million in support, said Shelby Morse, spokeswoman for Denver Economic Development & Opportunity.
The bus-only lane operations of routes 15 and 15L will run from Broadway to Colorado Boulevard in the center two lanes. That limited system will be in place until the full bus rapid transit project is complete, scheduled for the end of 2027. The full project will stretch from Union Station to I-225.
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Non-bus traffic will use only the outer lanes, with new limitations on where drivers can turn left off of Colfax Avenue. Those changes have caused continued confusion as some route-setting apps, like Google Maps, have directed vehicles to turn left in spots that no longer have that option. In August, one of Waymo’s driverless vehicles got mixed up in the construction site and was stuck for about an hour, according to reporting from Denverite. City officials are working with Waymo, Apple and Google to update their travel patterns, said Nancy Kuhn, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Work on the RTD bus lanes in the middle of Colfax included improved, built-out bus stops with security cameras, sheltered platforms, seating and, when all the construction is done, up-to-date display boards with information about buses. The line is intended to ultimately operate like a light rail train, with predictable, frequent stops moving passengers up and down the busy corridor. Buses will run in mixed-flow traffic and side-running lanes in the east portion of the project, from Yosemite to I-225, and in the west portion, from Civic Center Station to Union Station.
The project also added free, two-hour parking zones along Colfax on surrounding side streets.
The construction budget for the segment was about $115 million, and the city has spent $100 million so far, Kuhn said. The overall project has a budget of $280 million.
Transit groups and the city have multiple celebrations planned to mark the beginning of the bus-only service lanes. On Monday, the city will host an event from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Carla Madison Recreation Center. The Denver Streets Partnership will host a birthday party for the line on Oct. 3 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. along Colfax Avenue between Pennsylvania and York/Josephine. The Colfax Business Improvement District is also hosting a series of events this fall to mark the end of construction. The first is a spooky music performance by Opera Colorado on Oct. 8 at Champagne Tiger.
The opening of the bus-only lanes makes the project more than halfway complete. The next phase of construction will soon begin on the section of Colfax Avenue between Colorado Boulevard and Niagara Street.
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