DENVER — Denver's 16th Street Mall project has been going on for more than two years now but for people who live there it feels much longer.
Denver approved the $149 million project back in 2021 and is scheduled to finish in 2025. The project's goal is to reimagine the 16th Street Mall from Broadway to Market street. This is the first renovation to the mall since it opened in 1982, according to the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI).
The city promises more fences will start coming down this summer with events planned to welcome people back to the area.
That would be a welcome sight to residents and commuters along the mall.
“Downtown, it just looks congested. There’s a lot of traffic," said Jason Caffui. "You want to see the buildings. You want to see places to eat, but all you see is messed up roads and passageways that are blocked."
Caffui just moved to Denver two months ago.
“I feel like it hurts the downtown area as far as visitors wanting to come see and get an experience of what Denver's about," he said. "But, all they see is... dirt flinging everywhere and a lot of fences, too many fences everywhere."
DOTI said fences are already down on Block 2, which is 16th Street from Larimer to Lawrence streets.
Next to open in late July will be Block 1, Market to Larimer. Then around Labor Day, more fences will come down on locks 3 and 4 from Lawrence to Curtis.
Despite the progress, people who live and work here said it's a headache and can be hazardous to pedestrians where roads constrict to one lane.
Christian Konkol has lived in Denver most of his life. He said instead of catching the free mall ride he walks, because it's a lot faster.
"It kind of slows everything down," he said. "It's kind of hectic. It's noisy. It's annoying and it's taken for forever."
DOTI said safety is a top priority on this project and it meets national guidelines for traffic control. It said crews have put in additional barriers, road striping, traffic control flaggers and signage to improve safety for pedestrians and drivers. DOTI said it also conducts frequent site walks to ensure temporary traffic control is effective and issues are addressed.
The city is also urging drivers to be patient this summer, especially as more events are planned on 16th Street.
You can follow along with it's progress on the city's dashboard.
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