The poorly designed new intersection at 96th Avenue and I-76 resulted in a fuel spill on Monday. (CSP)
The intersection of 96th Avenue and Interstate 76 in Adams County is a complicated one with traffic coming from multiple directions. The recent redesign of the intersection by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) had many raising eyebrows at its design and now an accident draws attention to its many shortcomings.
The area in question has seen increased traffic in recent years as east / west traffic on 96th increased with Denver International Airport and the burgeoning suburbs to the northeast of Denver. In addition to on and off ramps from the interstate and 96th Avenue traffic, frontage roads on both sides add to the traffic.
One would expect a traffic light solution like at 88th Avenue and I-76 would be implemented. However, CDOT, using funds from the failed stimulus plan, instead designed and implemented two monstrous roundabouts.
A single lane roundabout can be confusing enough with traffic coming from four directions but the one at 96th has double lanes and traffic coming and going from every direction. Throw in heavy tractor-trailer traffic from the industrial area and it is a turning, zig-zagging mess of traffic.
The new intersection is a sight to behold and not one for the faint of heart. Navigating the intersection is hard enough in a car let alone a big rig that is 70 feet in length.
This morning the folly of implementing this solution was realized, less than two months after the intersection was fully opened. A tanker varying 7,600 gallons of fuel rolled when its trailer hit the curb and flipped dumping fuel on the ground.
Yet another example of CDOT failing Adams County – and Adams County failing to stand up for its citizens.
