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Markets
Transportation
Buildings & places
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Location
Denver, CO
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Client
City and County of Denver
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Completion date
Ongoing
Taylor Wright
VP, Principal Business Development Director, Atlanta, GA, USA contact form+1 678 247 2425
Denver International Airport (DEN) is the third busiest airport in the United States and the sixth busiest airport in the world, serving over 82 million passengers annually. Since opening in 1995, traffic along Peña Boulevard, its primary access route, has increased by 80%. Serving as program manager, we’re helping DEN upgrade this congested 11.1-mile stretch of freeway to accommodate airport growth and improve mobility and safety in the region.
Upgrades include reconstructing, widening and improving key sections of the corridor, and enhancing lighting along the route. Once complete, these projects will add more than 17 miles of roadway, eight interchanges and 21 structures to improve airport traffic operations and visibility for motorists. Combined, they will also help DEN meet its goal to serve 100 million passengers annually within the next several years.
Under a 10-year contract, we’re supporting the airport’s infrastructure management team to deliver these upgrades. Our role involves providing project, design and construction managers, engineers, contract administrators and other key personnel to ensure seamless execution. Besides managing ongoing improvements, we also helped develop a comprehensive transportation and mobility master plan (Peña Master Plan). This plan outlines long-term infrastructure needs and incorporates transportation demand management strategies to encourage more sustainable travel options. Further demonstrating our commitment to sustainability, we converted 391 lights to LED and removed 18 light poles. These changes have reduced energy consumption by approximately 50%—enough energy to power 38 homes.
To minimize disruptions to travelers and daily operations, work is occurring in multiple phases. The initial phase, launched in 2020, focused on easing inbound traffic congestion by reconstructing a key segment of the main access roadway. This included relocating the existing Return-to-Terminal route and implementing a more efficient, U-turn configuration. Doing so eliminated a previously problematic traffic weave and improved overall safety. Additionally, lane adjustments were made to better accommodate shuttle buses and reduce bottlenecks. Construction was completed by early 2022.
In 2024, the next phase began, aimed at decreasing outbound congestion. A major component of this phase is the construction of a diverging-diamond interchange (DDI). By temporarily shifting traffic to the left side of the road, DDI’s enhance safety and traffic flow at intersections with heavy left-turn volumes. Benefits include allowing more vehicles to efficiently move through intersections, reducing potential crash points, and enhancing visibility for drivers.
As work continues, we will help DEN implement multimodal solutions along Peña Boulevard. Because of our efforts, the Peña Master Plan received a 2025 Transportation Achievement Award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
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