By Elizabeth Wood West

The Town of Castle Rock (Town) council members unanimously voted Refined Alternative 6 Castlegate Drive as the preferred alignment for the North Meadows Extension project at their April 8 special council meeting. The project is being planned to provide a second access between The Meadows development and U.S. Highway 85 and Interstate 25, and to relieve congestion on Meadows Parkway and improve traffic flow on I-25.
Nearly 100 people attended the recent North Meadows Extension open house to review the findings of the Environmental Assessment Comprehensive report.

Town staff members gave a comparative review of the Castlegate and Atrium build alternatives, based upon the Environmental Assessment’s (EA) findings. The EA is a comprehensive report from the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) that examined three alternatives for the North Meadows Extension project: (1) Not building a new road; (2) building an alignment with an interchange at U.S. 85 and Castlegate Drive (Refined Alternative 6); and (3) building an alignment with an interchange at U.S. 85 and Atrium Drive (Refined Alternative 7). Both build alternatives would connect to I-25 at the same point, about one mile north of the Founders/Meadows Parkway interchange.

Nearly 100 people attended the recent North Meadows Extension open house to review the findings of the Environmental Assessment Comprehensive report.

The EA provided detailed information about the benefits and impacts the project could have on the surrounding area, including traffic, land use, community and social considerations, air quality, noise, water quality, and wildlife habitat. The EA can be viewed at http://co-castlerock.civicplus.com.

The EA conclusions included the following: Castlegate’s estimated cost is $66-69 million compared to Atrium’s $72-75 million; Castlegate’s additional right-of-way needed is 26.4 acres compared to Atrium’s 34.4 acres; Castlegate’s travel time (from Meadows Parkway/Butterfield Crossing to I-25) is estimated to be 7.3 minutes compared to Atrium’s 7.7 minutes. The no-build alternative’s estimated travel time is 9.7 minutes.

The Castlegate recommendation comes one day after the Town hosted the North Meadows Environmental Assessment Open House. Close to 100 people attended the open house to review the EA and meet with representatives from the Town, County, FWHA, and CDOT. Attendees were able to submit written
comments to the officials. The public is encouraged to provide input during the EA comment period, which ends May 7. Comment forms are available at www.CRgov.com.

The FWHA and CDOT have the final say on which alternative will be selected. They will include public comment, the Town’s preference for the Castlegate alignment, and other pertinent information in their decision, which is expected later this summer.

Construction of the North Meadows Extension is likely to be conducted in phases as funds become available. Construction phasing will be determined at a later date.

For further information, please contact Assistant Public Works Director Maria D’Andrea at 720-733-2472 or visit www.crgov.com/index.aspx?NID=373.