I-70 East Preferred Alternative Collaboration Team (PACT)

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) started a collaborative process to identify a preferred alternative for the I-70 East Corridor, from I-25 to Tower Road. This collaborative decision-making process was compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The preferred alternative will be documented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which will also include responses to all comments submitted during the comment period for the Draft EIS (DEIS) process.

The Formation of the PACT

The first step in this process was to develop a collaborative team, the I-70 East Preferred Alternative Collaboration Team (PACT), comprised of state and federal agencies, advocacy groups, and stakeholders from Adams County, Aurora, Commerce City, and Denver (see PACT member list below). Government agencies have identified their PACT representatives and individuals representing corridor businesses and residents have been selected at workshops that took place on July 14 and 16, 2010 respectively. Additional information on the workshops is provided below:

Business and Community Workshops

Because of the great public interest and involvement on the I-70 East EIS, CDOT and FHWA thought it essential to have corridor residents and businesses represented on the PACT. Relying on rosters of participants at previous I-70 meetings, referrals from the public and private entities, and original research, individuals that demonstrated leadership within their neighborhoods were identified and invited to participate in two pre-convening workshops with the ultimate goal of identifying the I-70 East community and business-oriented PACT members. Click to view the meeting summaries on the Meeting Minutes page.

At these workshops, seven community and five business representatives were selected to serve as members of the PACT.

PACT Members

Federal Highway Administration Doug Bennett......................720.963.3030 Shawn Cutting.....................720.963.3033 Colorado Department of Transportation Reza Akhavan.....................303.757.9459 Don Hunt............................303.757.9201 State Historic Preservation Office Amy Pallante......................303.866.4678 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Jim Dileo............................303.692.3127 Regional Transportation District Bill Van Meter.....................303.299.2448		Adams County Jeanne Shreve......................303.453.8809 City of Aurora Mac Callison........................303.739.7256 Commerce City Tom Acre.............................303.289.3758 Brian McBroom.....................303.289.3683 City and County of Denver John Lucero.........................720.913.1999 Lesley Thomas.....................720.865.8719 Sand Creek Greenway Kate Kramer.........................303.468.3263
Business Representatives Tricia Allen, Adams County - Economic Development...........................................303.450.5106 Jimmy Burds, Commerce City Business Association...........................................303.288.4796 Larry Burgess, Denver - Elyria/Swansea Business Association.............................303.972.9399 Pat Grant, National Western Stock Show............................................................303.299.5556 Art Ballah, Colorado Motor Carriers Association..........................................303.433.3375 x 105 Community Representatives Norma Frank, Adams County.............................................................................303.288.3152 Tony Brake, Aurora - Sable/Altura/Chambers.......................................................303.344.8226 Scott Jaquith, Commerce City............................................................................303.241.1821 Guillermo Serna, Commerce City........................................................................303.289.7101 Anthony Thomas, Denver...................................................................................303.399.1379 Drew Dutcher, Denver/Elyria........................................................................303.477.9156 x 12 Paul Garcia, Denver/Swansea......................................................................303.292.3203 x 20

PACT Goals and Schedule

The goal of the PACT was to reach consensus on a recommended preferred alternative by early 2011. The PACT’s work was based on the four build alternatives identified in the DEIS and public involvement process, including comments submitted for the DEIS. The PACT discussed and enhanced the four build alternatives in order to build an agreement on a preferred alternative. PACT reached significant agreement on the Current Alignment Alternative which was recommended to CDOT and FHWA as the preferred alternative however there was no consensus on north or south shift of the alignment. It is important to note that no new or previously eliminated alternatives were considered.

The following is a list of PACT meetings held to date for the project, along with a link to materials and minutes from each meeting.

PACT Tentative Schedule (2nd Thursday of the month)*

Date	Time
July 29, 2010	8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
August 12, 2010	2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
September 9, 2010	8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
October 14, 2010	12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
November 11, 2010	8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
December 9, 2010	1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
January 13, 2011	8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
February 10, 2011	11:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
March 10, 2011	8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
April 14, 2011	3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
May 12, 2011	4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
June 9, 2011	8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
July 11, 2011	5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
July 14, 2011	8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

* The meetings are held at the Swansea Rec Center located at 2650 E 49th Avenue unless otherwise noted.