The SDMD supports the inclusion of this portion of the non motorized corridor in their interchange plans.

B.  Emergency Services Jurisdiction to remain with Clear Creek County agencies

With the exception of the actual tunnel, Emergency Services in Clear Creek County will remain under the jurisdiction of the Clear County Emergency Services District, Clear Creek Fire Authority and Clear Creek Ambulance with financial participation from the SDMD to address only the anticipated increase in emergency calls due the new interchange and tunnel. 

The SDMD supports this concept for emergency service coverage in the tunnel and interchange area.  

C. The SDMD will provide equivalent water storage capacity or compensation for the loss of Clear Creek County's water storage opportunities that may be affected by the Tunnel and Interchange construction.

The SDMD has agreed to work with Clear Creek County on exploring other water storage options to accommodate the potential loss of county reservoir sites as a result of the tunnel and interchange construction.

A. Clear Creek County will again invite Black Hawk to participate in the Subregional Planning Commission along with Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties, Idaho Springs and Central City

B. Wildlife impact is effectively mitigated in the Tunnel and 119 widening proposal

Although a review of the Gaming Area Draft EIS will still be required, it appears that CDOT has done an adequate job of mitigating wildlife impact in their SDMD Tunnel/119 widening proposal. A request will be made to the Subregional Planning Commission to address wildlife impact mitigation as the Commission considers any new development in the Coordinated Planning Subregion. The Central City Parkway does not provide for wildlife crossings except for over the road surface and additional development along the Parkway may further impact wildlife migration patterns in the area.

A. Inclusion of a complete frontage road from Exit 244 to Exit 241, Kermitt's to the east end of Idaho Springs

Clear Creek County’s frontage road request includes new construction between Exit 244 and Exit 243 and improvements such as widening and paving of County Road 314 between Exit 243 and Exit 241.  Clear Creek County requests that the design and construction of the new portion of the frontage road and improvements to County Road 314 be an integrated component of the I-70 PEIS preferred alternative and the Gaming Area EIS Exit 244/SDMD Tunnel interchange solution. An integrated solution that includes the frontage road will produce a more desirable and cost effective result than addressing the frontage road as an afterthought and placing the design and construction burden solely on Clear Creek County, which appears to be the current CDOT methodology.

This frontage road will provide Clear Creek County residents with an option for local travel when there is a significant incident on I-70 which may be the result of increased gaming traffic.  Frontage Road connectivity between Exit 244 and 241 was an item brought up at every regional master planning meeting in Clear Creek County in 2003.  This new frontage road will also better accommodate highway bypass traffic in the event of a full I-70 closure or significant capacity reduction incident.

Clear Creek County believes that an I-70 frontage road is an integral component of I-70 throughout Clear Creek County. Unlike other areas of the state where local residential growth has placed additional requirements for frontage road capacity, Clear Creek County must accommodate an enormous amount of out of county traffic that would benefit substantially from a frontage road in this area. Incremental gaming growth combined with the existing I-70 gaming traffic, the Central City Parkway, snow sport resort area growth and other recreational growth in the Colorado high country all contribute to the huge amount of out of county I-70 traffic. The need for a frontage road may be compounded by future commercial growth in the Hidden Valley area as a result of the Central City Parkway opening. While the Silver Dollar Metro District Tunnel project is not the sole reason that the frontage road should be constructed and improved, the tunnel is a factor in incremental out of county traffic growth related to gaming.

At this time the SDMD will not pay for a frontage road and believes it to be a Clear Creek County responsibility. CDOT is not planning on addressing a frontage road in any part of Clear Creek County in the I-70 PEIS. CDOT is focused only on I-70 mainline travel in the PEIS and considers the frontage road as ancillary to mainline travel and will not address it in the Tier 1 PEIS study. This will not produce an integrated solution that effectively mitigates the impacts to Clear Creek County.

From Clear Creek County’s perspective the Gaming EIS is not coordinating with the I-70 PEIS on the frontage road question. The cumulative, incremental effects of increasing traffic on I-70 are not being acknowledged in either study and as a result the frontage road construction burden is being placed squarely on Clear Creek County. With a population of under 10,000, Clear Creek County does not have the financial resources to create and maintain a frontage road network for I-70.

It is also not Clear Creek County traffic that is congesting this area and mandating frontage road improvements, so CDOT and to a much lesser extent the SDMD, should have a responsibility to address frontage road improvements.

CDOT appears to recognize the importance of a frontage road in this area and that the requirement for this frontage road is not directly related to in-county traffic, but a result of out of county traffic facilitated by I-70. Unfortunately CDOT will not elect to address frontage roads as a level of detail in the I-70 PEIS because they consider it to be inappropriate for a Tier 1 document. CDOT has volunteered to demonstrate to Clear Creek County that their I-70 alternatives will not preclude a frontage road in this area. The county would be very interested in participating in such a demonstration.

CDOT has also offered that upon release of the Draft PEIS document, the county could comment about the lack of consideration of frontage roads throughout Clear Creek County in the Draft document. Clear Creek County could present a strong argument that due to the significant impact of I-70 out of county traffic, the frontage road issue must be identified in the Tier 1 document and the appropriate mitigation measures must be pursued in a Final PEIS or Tier 2 document.

B. Inclusion of a complete Non Motorized Corridor from US 6 in Clear Creek Canyon, east of the Frei Quarry, to Exit 241, east end of Idaho Springs

While the SDMD has agreed to address a segment of the non motorized corridor from US 6 in Clear Creek Canyon, (in the area of the Frei Quarry), through the new Exit 244 Interchange area, Clear Creek County has consistently expressed it’s interest in a continuous non motorized corridor connecting Clear Creek Canyon in Jefferson County with Idaho Springs since the early 1990’s. The non motorized corridor is also a critical component of the Clear Creek County 2030 Master Plan and Greenway proposal. The Greenway concept has considerable economic and quality of life benefits to Clear Creek County residents and needs to be included in any I-70 construction project in the area from Exit 244 to Exit 241.  

Clear Creek County requests that the design and construction of the non motorized corridor in the area between Exit 244 and Exit 241 be an integrated component of the I-70 PEIS preferred alternative and the Gaming Area EIS Exit 244/SDMD Tunnel interchange solution. An integrated solution that includes the non motorized corridor will produce a more desirable and cost effective result than addressing the non motorized corridor as an afterthought and placing the design and construction burden solely on Clear Creek County, which appears to be the current CDOT methodology.

From Clear Creek County’s perspective the Gaming EIS is not coordinating with the I-70 PEIS on the non motorized corridor. The cumulative effects of improving I-70 in the narrower canyon areas of the county are not being acknowledged in either study and as a result the non motorized corridor could be placed at risk. At this time the SDMD will not pay for the complete non motorized corridor from US 6 in Clear Creek Canyon, east of the Frei Quarry, to Exit 241, east end of Idaho Springs. CDOT is also not planning on addressing the non motorized corridor in the I-70 PEIS.

CDOT is focused only on I-70 mainline travel in the PEIS and considers the non motorized corridor as ancillary to mainline travel and will not address it in the Tier 1 PEIS study.

CDOT appears to recognize the importance of the Clear Creek County Greenway Plan and has volunteered to demonstrate to Clear Creek County that their I-70 alternatives will not preclude the non motorized corridor in this area. Again the county would be very interested in participating in such a demonstration.

CDOT has also offered that upon release of the Draft PEIS document, the county could comment about the lack of consideration of the non motorized corridor in the Draft document. Clear Creek County could present a strong argument that due to the significant impact of I-70 improvements especially in the narrower canyon areas of the county, the non motorized corridor must be identified in the Tier 1 document to insure that the appropriate measures are taken to include the non motorized corridor in the design and construction of any selected PEIS alternative in the Final PEIS or Tier 2 document.

C.  Inclusion of an 8 foot Safety / Bicycle Shoulder on US 40 from Kermitt's, (Exit 244) through the top of Floyd Hill connecting to Jefferson County to accommodate bicycle traffic

The Floyd Hill segment of the Clear Creek County non motorized corridor has been identified in the county’s non motorized master plan since the early 1990’s.  CDOT has also adopted the Interstate Colorado Bicycle Corridor some number of years ago which contains this segment. Again since CDOT’s focus for the I-70 PEIS as a Tier 1 document is on mainline I-70 travel, bicycle and non motorized travel issues have not been included.

Clear Creek County requests that the design and construction of the Floyd Hill segment of the Interstate Bicycle Corridor and Clear Creek County non motorized corridor be an integrated component of the I-70 PEIS preferred alternative and Gaming Area EIS Exit 244/SDMD Tunnel interchange solution. The Floyd Hill segment should include an 8 foot Safety/Bicycle Shoulder on US 40 from Kermitt's, (Exit 244) through the top of Floyd Hill connecting with Jefferson County, or other appropriate bicycle option.

The I-70 corridor through Clear Creek County to Loveland Pass along with the Central City Parkway, the Mount Evans Highway and the Squaw Pass Highway have been identified as very popular road cycling routes by Front Range bicycle organizations.  These routes attract road cyclists from all over the country as well as the Front Range.  Connectivity from Jefferson County through the top of Floyd Hill to Clear Creek Canyon will be a critical component of the Greenway concept and a requirement to facilitate this bicycle traffic. 

CDOT has offered that upon release of the Draft PEIS document, the county could comment about the lack of consideration of the non motorized corridor in the Draft document.

Clear Creek County could present a strong argument that due to the significant impact of I-70 improvements especially in the narrower canyon areas of the county including Floyd Hill, the non motorized corridor must be identified in the Tier 1 document to insure that the appropriate measures are taken to include the non motorized corridor in the design and construction of any selected PEIS alternative in the Final PEIS or Tier 2 document.

D.  Inclusion of a complete design that creates a full diamond interchange or the equivalent at the top of Floyd Hill, (Exit 247)

The downhill slope of I-70 just east of Exit 247 is steep enough that the eastbound on-ramp, (which would start above the grade of I-70 on the overpass road) would be playing catch up in order to avoid an excessively steep grade and could extend all the way to Jefferson County Road 65. A frontage road connecting the Beaver Brook Overpass Road at Exit 247 to Jefferson County Road 65 at Exit 248 along the south side of the highway or even further south connecting Beaver Brook Canyon Road with Jefferson County Road 65 and bordering the Clear Creek County High School property might be a better solution. Intrusion into the meadow, wetlands and private property along the south side of I-70 would have to be carefully considered in developing this frontage road plan.  This problem is compounded by the current worse case scenario for the Black Hawk Tunnel interchange proposal which would extend the eastbound I-70 on-ramp from the tunnel south portal all the way to nearly Jefferson County Road 65 which would create an even greater intrusion into the meadow property.

CDOT has agreed to meet with county officials and Floyd Hill area residents on Thursday, July 22 to discuss possible alignments for a south side frontage road to connect Exits 247 and 248. CDOT believes that the frontage road connection is a better option than a full diamond interchange at Exit 247.

E. Requirements for a final interchange design and construction plan at Exit 244, (prior to construction start), that accommodates both the SDMD Tunnel and all I-70 PEIS highway and transit improvements relating to the alternatives studied in the Draft PEIS

It isn’t clear whether or not the proposed Exit 244/SDMD interchange in the Gaming Area Draft EIS will accommodate the AGS alternative. The actual alignment of the AGS through this area is a critical component of this discussion. Clear Creek County would request that the final Exit 244/SDMD interchange design does accommodate the AGS alternative.

CDOT agrees in principle and is trying to remain as flexibility as possible in the design of the SDMD tunnel interchange in order to accommodate all possible I-70 PEIS alternatives. At this point CDOT reports that the new SDMD/Exit 244 interchange design appears to accommodate most I-70 PEIS alternatives, however at least one alternative may require a rebuild of the new I-70 westbound exit ramp at Exit 244. CDOT has identified the potential for essentially a second rebuild of the I-70 westbound off ramp at Exit 244, (once to accommodate the SDMD Tunnel and a second to accommodate the I-70 PEIS Final Alternative).

A question was also raised between the SDMD and CDOT about the financial responsibility for the interchange reconstruction once the tunnel interchange is complete and renovations are needed to accommodate the I-70 PEIS preferred alternative.

A. Compensation for the fiscal impact to Clear Creek County for the loss of Kermitt's, unless Kermitt’s can be relocated in Clear Creek County

The SDMD has agreed to work with the individual business owner to compensate them for the loss of the business and/or relocation of the business required by the construction of the tunnel and tunnel interchange. The SDMD feels no obligation to compensate Clear Creek County for the loss of Kermitt’s because in their view they provide Clear Creek County with an economic benefit by providing gaming jobs to Clear Creek County residents.

Clear Creek County would maintain that there are real tradeoffs for any economic benefit created by nearby gaming in terms of legitimate impacts which require additional expenditures from Clear Creek County local government entities and service agencies. Some of these impacts are currently covered by DOLA’s Contiguous County Limited Impact Gaming Grant program, however there is no guarantee that DOLA’s Contiguous County Gaming Impact Grant Program will continue to pay for these impacts in the future. Regardless of the growth in the nearby gaming industry, Clear Creek County seeks to maintain county business establishments and is opposed to State and other jurisdictions efforts to eliminate these businesses in favor of transportation projects in the county.

Clear Creek County would very much like to see an effort from the SDMD and CDOT to keep Kermitt’s operating in Clear Creek County.