Project Overview
U.S. 36 is a four-lane divided highway that connects the City of Boulder, Colorado to I-25, which provides onward connections to downtown Denver. The U.S. 36 Express Lanes project reconstructed the general purpose lanes and added one high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane in each direction along a 15-mile segment of U.S. 36. The project also included the replacement of eight bridges; accommodations for BRT service and associated transit station improvements; a bikeway; and installation of Intelligent Transportation System equipment. |
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The project was delivered in two phases. Phase 1, delivered under a design-build contract, covers the first 10 miles of the project from Denver to Superior/Louisville. Phase 2, continuing northwest an additional five miles to Table Mesa/Foothills Parkway in Boulder, has been delivered under a design, build, finance, operate, and maintain (DBFOM) public-private partnership (P3) with the Plenary Roads Denver consortium (Plenary) led by Plenary Group. Under the 50-year concession agreement, Plenary is also responsible for operations and maintenance of Phase 1 of the U.S. 36 project, as well as the seven-mile portion of the existing I-25 Express Lanes along I-25 from the U.S. 36 Interchange into downtown Denver. Plenary collects and retains the toll revenues from all the managed lane facilities.
The estimated total capital cost for Phases 1 and 2 of the U.S. 36 Express Lanes is $521 million and Phase 2 was Colorado's first highway P3 transportation improvement.