New CDOT renderings show what an I-70 expansion at Floyd Hill might look like

The Colorado Department of Transportation is gearing up to start construction in spring 2023 on a planned expansion of Interstate 70 at Floyd Hill, a notorious bottleneck about 13 miles west of the Denver metro.

And at a Colorado Transportation Commission meeting Wednesday, the agency released a handful of renderings of what the mega project — estimated to cost $700 million and last until 2027 — might look like.

The project will add a third westbound travel lane (it will be tolled, too), which means that I-70 will have at least three lanes in each direction from the Denver metro to the Veterans Memorial Tunnels near Idaho Springs. (On high traffic days, CDOT can also open the Mountain Express Lanes between Idaho Springs and Empire.)

The project will also flatten curves, rebuild interchanges and frontage roads, add a fourth westbound lane for slow-moving vehicles, and add wildlife crossings, among other components.

The project's design is still subject to change. For example: the renderings below show both eastbound and westbound lanes on viaducts. But the project's director, Kurt Kionka, told the commission that staff is considering moving eastbound lanes onto the ground in some places to save money.

Without further ado, here are the renderings:

Courtesy Colorado Department of Transportation

Courtesy Colorado Department of Transportation

Courtesy Colorado Department of Transportation

Courtesy Colorado Department of Transportation

Courtesy Colorado Department of Transportation