Council awards $6.5M construction contract for South Broadway Complete Streets; concerns about budget and funding sources raised

The Englewood City Council on Sept. 2 authorized awarding the South Broadway Complete Streets construction contract to Essential Contractors after a competitive bid process. The low bid was $6.5 million; staff requested a $200,000 contingency, bringing the construction authorization to $6.7 million. Staff said roughly $6.6 million of the project will be reimbursed through federal grant funds administered by CDOT; the city’s share for the project was presented as approximately $1.4 million after reimbursements.

Project scope and public engagement: project manager Devon Keener and Public Works Director Victor Rochelle described the improvements: upgraded bus stops with bulb‑outs, upgraded shelters, pedestrian lighting (about 114 pedestrian lights), landscaping, wayfinding, and a multimodal reconfiguration that shifts a bike corridor to South Sherman Street and keeps buses in the traffic lane rather than in parking lanes. Keener summarized public outreach: three open houses (Apr. 2024, Mar. 2025, May 2025) and multiple mailers and online outreach. Staff described design changes driven by public comment including relocating some pedestrian lights away from directly in front of houses, anti‑graffiti coatings for shelters, increased maintenance expectations for shelters, inclusion of coarse‑grain non‑slip silica in painted amenity areas and six additional street trees.

Funding and council concerns: several members of council and public speakers expressed concern about the total project cost and whether budget lines (pavement maintenance by area and concrete utility fund) were being used as intended. Public comments earlier in the meeting raised worries that money approved for pavement maintenance could be repurposed. Public works staff responded that pavement and concrete funds would pay for asphalt and concrete work only (curb and gutter, pavement), not landscaping and street furniture, and that some paving work was deliberately deferred earlier to avoid re‑paving areas that the Complete Streets project would rework.

Vote and next steps: the council vote to award the contract carried with five ayes and two nays (two council members opposed). Director Rochelle said construction could begin this fall with completion anticipated in December 2026; CDOT will administer grant reimbursement and oversight. Staff will return with construction notices, staging and schedule details and continue coordination with CDOT and RTD.

Ending: staff emphasized the project’s safety and connectivity goals and said they will provide regular project updates and maintain an outreach page for construction notifications.