Broomfield Enterpirse
July 24, 2008

For 40 years, plans to complete a beltway around Denver never have made it past the drawing board.

Some area residents are trying to keep it that way.

Members of Arvadans for Responsible Transportation are taking Arvada to court to force the city to pull out of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority. The authority, of which Broomfield is a member, is charged with pursuing private contractors that might be able to finance, plan and construct a toll road that would link the Northwest Parkway to C-470.

ART president Russell Weisfield said his group wants to force Arvada to hold a referendum before it proceeds with plans to build the highway. In May it attempted to file a petition that would lead to a referendum, but it was rejected by the city. The group responded by filing for an injunction.

A hearing on its request is scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday in the courtroom of Jefferson County District Court Judge Jane Tidball.

The Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority took the lead in building the road after the Colorado Department of Transportation in June abandoned its environmental impact statement. The decision signaled the government is not going to finance the project, which could cost $500 million to $1.5 billion.

The authority's first meeting was May 22. Broomfield, Arvada and Jefferson County each contributed $100,000 to cover start-up costs. Its goal is to find a private source of money to pay for the parkway. A private contractor would be responsible for the costs, but entitled to revenue from the road.

One candidate would be Brisa, a Portuguese company that manages the Northwest Parkway and has built toll roads around the world. Brisa last year paid $603 million to bail out the debt-ridden road. In return it will operate and collect tolls on the road for 99 years.

Weisfield's goal is to see the proposed highway scrapped. He thinks local governments shouldn't be able to commit to building a private toll road without first going to voters. He believes taxpayers would reject a plan for a private toll road, and the time and effort spent on the project should be used to improve existing roads, such as U.S. 93 and Wadsworth Parkway.

Weisfield's biggest concern is the contract would contain a no-compete clause that could prohibit governments from upgrading and maintaining public roads.

Broomfield Mayor Pat Quinn, who is the authority's treasurer, said elected officials would not commit to a contract under those terms.

"It's speculation, but I don't think the parties would support that," Quinn said.

The biggest threat to existing roads is a lack of money from the federal and state governments, Quinn said. Securing private financing for one of the area's most expensive projects might free up public funds for other improvements.

"I'm not aware of any funds that are available for the construction of public roads. Looking at public-private partnerships is a logical thing to do and a realistic way to look at financing this project," he said.

Regardless of what elected officials or voters approve, Weisfield thinks motorists will shun a new toll road. If that happens, the road would be an expensive mistake, just like the Northwest Parkway was.

"From a personal perspective, that woke me up a bit. I might have been indifferent, but then I saw what happened in Broomfield," Weisfield said.

Before last year's lease agreement with Brisa, the parkway was facing $469.5 million in debt repayment on the $416.4 million in bonds used to build the roadway. In addition to the ballooning debt, the parkway's bond rating eroded,making refinancing prohibitively expensive. Brisa took over that debt, as well as others involved with the construction of the parkway, and also is making open space payments to parkway jurisdictions and payments to Broomfield for local road improvements that provided the infrastructure for the parkway.

Supporters of the Jefferson Parkway think the characterization of the Northwest Parkway as a losing venture is unfair.

"The Northwest Parkway is something that was needed and is needed and is becoming a success," said Jefferson Economic Council president Preston Gibson. Providing a connection between the parkway and Interstate 70 would draw more drivers to it, he said.

Studies commissioned by the council estimate the parkway would add $9 billion and 17,000 more jobs to Broomfield and parts of Jefferson County. Gibson said that would be in addition to the area's projected growth without the road.

When asked if those numbers were realistic, Gibson said the success of the Denver Tech Center shows the influence easy highway access has when luring companies.

The authority will continue its work even if Arvada is forced to pull out, said interim director Bill Ray, who also is Arvada's deputy city manager. According to state law, only two local governments are required to form a highway authority, and Broomfield and Jefferson County would remain.

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