Jefferson County Road 73 (or JC-73) is the primary travel route for residents of Evergreen between their homes and destinations along State Highway 74 with ultimate connections to I-70 and C-470. Access to US-285 at Conifer is also available along JC-73 to the south of the project corridor. This roadway is a link for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In the event of an emergency, it is one of the primary evacuation routes for the foothill residents of Jefferson County. 

JC-73 has long been identified as a road where improvements are needed, especially bike and pedestrian infrastructure, shoulders, and access to properties, businesses, and downtown Evergreen. 

On a previous effort, conceptual designs were presented to the public and a preferred alternative was selected. The preliminary design for the selected alternative is currently being completed and is presented below. The project includes an approximately ½ mile segment of JC-73 between Buffalo Park Road and Plettner Lane. This segment is the last of ongoing bike and safety improvements that have been completed or scheduled for JC-73. However, it is also the most challenging segment due to physical constraints. 

Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) funding has been secured to construct safety and operational improvements including bike lanes / shoulders and pedestrian facilities. The roadway will also be reconstructed, including drainage improvements and bridge replacement.

View this project on the Jeffco Roadway Project dashboard (an interactive mapping application). Under the Capital Improvement Project list at the right-hand side of the dashboard, scroll to and click "CR73 Roadway Improvements". 

Project Schedule:

The project team completed a preliminary design in winter 2021 and is waiting on state and federal approvals for drainage and historical findings prior to finalizing the project design. The preliminary design was completed at the end of 2021, after public outreach had been performed and public input was received.

The current phase is review of the final design prior to approval and moving forward to the bidding phase. Utility relocation work may occur in the fall of 2022, prior to the roadway construction phase of the project. The bid phase is anticipated to begin early 2023 after right-of-way has been acquired and a contractor awarded. Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2024.

Design Project Impact:

The design project will have limited impacts on traffic during the final design phase. The public will be impacted when the project design team is locating and confirming existing utilities and colleting miscellaneous survey data.

There may be flagger-controlled lane restrictions, causing short delays, from Buffalo Park Road to Plettner Lane during periods when additional survey or utility data is collected.

Most work is expected to occur from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Stakeholder Engagement Process:

The public involvement and feedback received in the previous concept design phase were vital for the selection of a preferred alternative. The project team hosted an additional virtual public meeting for the preliminary design phase. The purpose of this effort was to engage with the public and gather additional feedback on the more advanced design. For specific information about the preliminary design, please review the documents and project video below (video and pdf version available).

The project video highlights the existing features and traffic conditions along the project corridor, the proposed traffic conditions, and the recommended intersection and corridor improvements. 

Public comment closed December 31, 2021.

Project Video:

• Link to virtual meeting (in English).
• Link to virtual meeting (en español).

Project Video (PDF Version):

• Link to project video PDF (in English).
• Link to project video PDF (en español).

See Existing Flyover Video

For Questions:

Your feedback is valuable in the decision-making process. For questions, please email Mike Vanatta.

Thank you for your interest in this project!