The Peña Boulevard Phase 1B Project has been verified Envision Silver, recognizing comprehensive sustainability performance across quality of life, leadership, resource efficiency, and climate resilience.

As the primary gateway to one of the fastest-growing airports in North America, Peña Boulevard plays a critical role in regional mobility, economic competitiveness, and climate-resilient infrastructure. The modernization of this critical corridor strengthens connectivity between Denver, its suburbs, and Denver International Airport (DEN), while improving safety, operational efficiency, and environmental performance.

The project ensures Peña Boulevard remains a resilient and reliable access corridor to Denver International Airport well into the future. Designed to create seamless multimodal access that extends beyond DEN’s immediate boundaries, the project supports the airport in meeting growing capacity demands while enhancing connectivity across the region.

Originally built in 1993, the 11.1-mile-long roadway is experiencing significant congestion due to airport growth and surrounding development, resulting in increasing accident rates and declining roadway performance. With continued growth in passenger travel and freight movement along the Peña corridor, DEN is improving roadway geometry to ensure reliable trips, support the supply chain, and enhance roadway safety for passengers, employees, freight operators, and surrounding communities.

Project upgrades include wider shoulders, new merge and diverge lanes, enhanced access to public transportation, and expanded multimodal accommodations for vehicles, transit, and cyclists/pedestrians, consistent with Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) design standards. Lighting upgrades along Peña Boulevard will remove 103 existing luminaires with a combined energy demand of 43,250 watts and replace them with 85 LED streetlight fixtures rated at 5,300 lumens, reducing total energy usage by 66%. These upgrades reduce long-term operational costs while lowering greenhouse gas emissions associated with corridor operations.

QUOTE FROM ISI:
“Congratulations to DEN and the entire project team on earning Envision Silver for the Peña Boulevard Phase 1B Project,” said Kailey Eldredge, ISI’s Verification Director. “This project demonstrates how strategic infrastructure reinvestment can enhance quality of life, support long-term growth, and integrate environmental and social responsibility into a critical transportation asset.”

QUOTE FROM PROJECT PENA BLVD. PMT (AtkinsRéalis):

The Peña Boulevard Phase 1B project is a sustainability benchmark for the Airport and for DEN’s Design, Engineering and Construction (DEC) division. It is one of the largest landside projects undertaken by DEN and represents the airport’s first Envision certified (Silver) landside project. This level of achievement aligns the project with DEN’s vision to become the most sustainable airport in the world. The project serves as an excellent footprint for this type of achievement for the airport moving forward.” – Tom Cotton, AtkinsRéalis, Peña PMT Design Manager.

QUOTE FROM PROJECT DESIGNER (RS&H):

“The Peña Boulevard Phase 1B project reflects how thoughtful transportation design can advance sustainability while improving mobility, safety, and long-term resilience. RS&H was proud to support the design of this project with integration of the Envision framework to balance operational performance with environmental stewardship and community benefit. Achieving Envision Silver underscores the value of collaboration and forward-looking infrastructure solutions that serve the region today while preparing for future growth.” – RS&H, Randal Lapsley, Design Project Manager

QUOTE FROM LEAD SUSTAINABILTY FIRM (C&S):

“Peña Boulevard Phase 1B is DEN’s first landside project to apply the Envision framework and pursue verification, marking a meaningful advancement in sustainable airport infrastructure. As Sustainability Lead, C&S was proud to partner with DEN and the project team to embed environmental stewardship, equity, and resilience across planning, design, and construction. The Envision Silver award recognizes the project’s lasting social, economic, and environmental benefits, including improved traffic flow, stronger supply chain reliability, and safer, more efficient travel for passengers and freight for years to come.” – Alexandra Davis-Petrenko, C&S Companies, Senior Sustainability Consultant

Verified Sustainability Achievements

Planning for Sustainable Communities – The project management team committed to embedding sustainability and resilience principles throughout project design and construction. To align with these goals, the team integrated sustainable practices into each stage. At inception, the team conducted multiple sustainability brainstorming and community listening sessions to identify key focus areas and strategies. Envision served as a guiding framework during the planning and design phases, and early planning assessments evaluated the project’s potential long-term impacts on the sustainability of the surrounding region and its historically underserved communities.

Establishing a Sustainability Management Plan – Dedicated sustainability meetings were held to pinpoint opportunities for incorporating sustainable design, setting sustainability and equity goals, and establishing tracking mechanisms. These efforts ensured alignment with sustainability objectives through the project duration. In addition, robust management plans supported the integration of sustainability initiatives and allowed the team to adapt to unforeseen changes while maintaining accountability to project goals.

Improving Public Space and Amenities – This project promotes a more pedestrian-friendly environment with the addition of sidewalks, bike paths, and pedestrian crossings along Jackson Gap Street. Enhanced public amenities also include improved wayfinding, with new signage and information boards installed along the corridor to help travelers navigate the area more easily and reach the airport or other destinations with confidence. These improvements expand safe, accessible travel options beyond single-occupancy vehicles.

Minimizing Construction Waste – The project specifications require the contractor to manage and divert construction waste. Monthly tracking forms are used to measure and document materials diverted from landfills through salvage or recycling, with oversight from the sustainability team to ensure compliance. The contractor is required to divert at least 75% of construction and demolition waste by weight, with a stretch goal of 95% or more. The project is on track to exceed the stretch goal, achieving greater than 95% diversion and significantly reducing lifecycle material impacts.

Enhancing Community Mobility and Safety – This project delivers multimodal solutions along the Peña Boulevard corridor through the introduction of managed lanes and transportation demand management strategies. Managed lanes will improve mobility and travel time reliability for public transportation – such as Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) buses – and high-occupancy vehicles, including carpools and shared-ride services. The improvements will reduce both congestion and safety challenges. Data indicates the highest concentrations of crashes were occurring in historically disadvantaged communities along the corridor. Improving equitable safety outcomes and access was a key priority, and the improvements are forecast to achieve a 50% reduction in automobile accidents.

Sustainability Leadership – DEN integrated environmentally responsible and innovative practices throughout the project, reaffirming the airport’s commitment to environmental stewardship, community engagement, and operational excellence. The project team ensured alignment with DEN’s long-term strategic plan, including Vision 100, which prepares the airport to accommodate 100 million annual passengers in the coming years, and Operation 2045, marking DEN’s 50th anniversary and planning for an anticipated 120 million annual passengers by 2045. Across these initiatives, DEN aims to become the greenest airport in the world while building a resilient and thriving organization capable of adapting to future climate and transportation challenges.

Strengthening Infrastructure Integration – In addition to ensuring seamless integration with regional transportation systems and the aviation network, the project will also improve stormwater quality and runoff management. For example, it will modify several existing storm drainage systems to better integrate with the regional stormwater network, reducing localized flooding risk, improving water quality, and enhancing long-term climate resilience along the corridor.