The E-470 highway, one of the first roads in the nation built with a public-private partnership, was completed on January 3, 2003. At 47 miles in length, the toll highway runs along the eastern perimeter of the Denver metropolitan area from State Highway C-470 at I-25 south, running north along the western edge of the Denver International Airport, and eventually intersecting with I-25 North. The highway is managed by the E-470 Public Highway Authority, a consortium of local governments having jurisdiction over areas the highway passes through.
Faced with an uncertain international borrowing market in the early 1990s, the E-470 Authority partnered with the contractor Morrison Knudsen (now Washington Group International)-one of the first agreements of its kind. Under this agreement, Morrison Knudsen designed and built segments 2 and 3 of E-470. Morrison Knudsen also agreed to secure millions of dollars to keep the project moving forward and worked with the E-470 authority through difficult political, legal, and environmental issues.
Segment 1 of E-470, consisting of 5.13 miles, was completed for $115 million ($22.4 million/mile), Segment 2 and 3, totaling 29.3 miles, was completed for $663 million ($22.6 million/mile), and segment 4, 12.24 miles long, was completed for $453 million ($37 million/mile). The total cost for the 46-mile long highway was $1.2 billion, bringing the project within budget, despite several setbacks and legal battles.
Despite those setbacks, the road was also completed ahead of schedule. The final segment of the project was completed on January 3, 2003, a full five weeks ahead of schedule.
Colorado Governor Bill Owens called the E-470 highway "the father of the new tolling authority," and noted that, "[w]e learned a lot from the E-470, and its contributions aren't finished."[391] The completed road contains many innovations, such as technology built into the highway system that allows commuters to pay tolls electronically. This has allowed about 60 percent of all tolls to be paid electronically, saving time and costs to both drivers and local governments. The Transportation Finance Task Force has cited the project as a "model" which should be "replicated to the extent practicable."[392]