CDOT
CDOT

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is
currently conducting environmental reviews for projects to
expand I-70 through Denver, I-70 through the mountain
corridor, C-470 through Jeffco and Douglas County, US 36
from Denver to Boulder, I-25 between Thornton and Ft.
Collins, the North-west Parkway between Broomfield and
Golden, and sections of 285 and 287. Each of these
expansion projects involves expanded highway lanes near
schools, but the impact of highway emissions on our
children has not been investigated and reported in any of
the environmental documents prepared so far.

Mitchell Elementary and an additional 8 other Colorado
schools are in the path of planned CDOT highway projects
that are expected to start construction within the next 2 – 4
years.  Colorado currently has 52 schools that are within
500 yards of a highway, which puts children at elevated
health risks when the traffic exceeds 50,000 vehicles per
day.

Both state and federal dollars are used to conduct
Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for highway
projects.  Millions of dollars each year are spent on EIS
studies in our state. The state and county health
departments don’t have large budgets to conduct health
studies.  It seems logical that if CDOT were conducting an
EIS, and the road expansion project meet the hazard
criteria, then a health impact assessment should be
conducted for students attending a public school.



Many of the health studies posted on this website have
been forwarded to CDOT & CDPHE with continued requests
for a scientific study on Mitchell Elementary.     CDOT
continues to answer: They hope the Environmental Impact
Statement will address questions.     Initial requests were
made for air quality studies in May 2005.    Almost 2 years
later no scientific study has been initiated at Mitchell
Elementary per the parents’ knowledge and Open Records
Request in September 2006.   CDOT’s NW Corridor
Environmental Impact Statement is due to be published
spring 2007.