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Aging viaducts pose·traffic-ills by Emerson Schwartzkopf
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Two Auraria bridges may be • falling down in the near future and could take over $20 million to replace. Both the Colfax Avenue and Larimer · Street viaducts directly west of the campus are ''far below standard'' and in need of replacement, said Auraria Executive Director Jerome Wartgow on July-14. And, Wartgow added, current deter.io!ation .of the structures may ~ p~o~b1t Regional Transportation District buses from using the two viaducts. Wartgow said plans for both traffic arteries - providing main access to downtown Denver from '9; the western sections of the city are under study by a nine-member gPOup with city, state, and Auraria representation. The Colfax Viaduct Task Force Wartgow said, is now in the midst r of a $200,000 federally-funded evaluation of the Colfax-Larimer viaduct problem. War.tgow, speaking at an Aurana Board of Directors meeting, said, Auraria's main in,.- volvement in the study deals with traffic patterns throughout the campus.
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As the Auraria member of the Task. .Force, . Wartgow said ' "Our pos1t1~n is: As long as you are replacmg the Colfax viaduct and the Larimer Street viaduct, let's look at the traffic system in the central core." Wartgow said "it's no secret" to state officials that the current Colfax-Larimer-Lawrence-Inter state 25 traffic interchange alignment is ''impossible.'' One proposal for replacement Wartgow indicated, involve~ making the present one-way eastbound Coifax viaduct into a twoway thoroughfare, with a new major interchange at 1-25. Such a proposal, Wartgol,V said would affect the Auraria campu~ by possibly encroaching upon the top of one parking lot. Another replacement proposal for the Larimer bridge calls for construction of a new traffic viaduct two blocks northwest al?ng Walnut Street, Wartgow
said.
A westbound Walnut Street viaduct would follow the plans of the o Skyline Parkway downtown traf- i 5 fie re-routing, proposed nearly ten ~ years ago. 5 ~
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