Project overview

The Downtown Express consists of 6.6 miles of bus/high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes running from downtown Denver to US 36. Downtown Express lanes are reversible with vehicles moving with rush hour traffic southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. A Traffic Management System (TMS), which includes changeable signs, traffic gates, and closed-circuit television, provides a safety feature to the barrier-separated lanes.

At the time the Downtown Express was the largest construction project ever undertaken by RTD; and it is also the first project that the Colorado Department of Transportation, the City and County of Denver, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and RTD constructed together.

New Park-n-Rides

The project included expansion of two RTD Park-n-Rides: Wagon Road Park-n-Ride, located at I-25 and 120th Avenue, and Thornton Park-n-Ride, located at I-25 and 88th Avenue. In addition, a bike and pedestrian path running along the south side of 20th Street, four acres of new parks on the east side of the Platte River, and two new community parks in the Highland Neighborhood on the west side of I-25 were also developed.

2001 expansion

On May 8, 2001, the bus/HOV lane was extended to Pecos Street and US 36 with the opening of the US 36 “Direct Connect.” This $148 million extension provides an additional 2.5 miles of barrier-separated, reversible HOV lane, allowing motorists to connect effortlessly from US 36 HOV lanes onto I-25 HOV lanes.

2004 expansion

Construction to extend the bus/HOV lane north on I-25 to 78th Avenue was completed in October 2004. This extension provides an additional 2 miles of bus/HOV lane for I-25 traffic. On June 2, 2006, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) instituted a change in operations on the facility, converting the lanes to HOV/Tolled Express lanes, allowing Single Occupant Vehicles (SOV) access to the lanes by paying a toll.

Project status

Currently, during the morning and afternoon rush hours, the Downtown Express lanes carry approximately 9,000 cars and buses in each direction. This number includes 260 buses (with 9,000 passengers), 4,700 high-occupancy vehicles (with approximately 11,700 passengers), and almost 4,000 toll vehicles – for a total of over 22,400 passengers.

Benefits of the Downtown Express

• Shortens commute time
  Bus/HOV commuters typically save as much as 5 to 10 minutes travel time during rush hour, with even greater savings when accidents or severe weather slow general auto traffic.
• Improves air quality
  The travel time savings is attracting commuters from their cars to buses and HOV’s, which will reduce carbon monoxide and particulate pollution in downtown Denver.
• Increases I-25 capacity
  The two bus/HOV lanes can carry as many people as four general traffic lanes; increased HOV usage will reduce the number of cars in general.

Project cost and funding sources

Capital Cost: $228 million

• Federal Transit Administration: $70 million
• Regional Transportation District: $ 54 million
• Colorado Department of Transportation and
  Federal Highway Administration: $ 84 million
• City and County of Denver: $ 20 million

Downtown Express I-25 HOV map

Updated January 2013