Wheat Ridge council backs final design for 1.75-mile 30th Avenue West overhaul; staff to pursue utility undergrounding

The Wheat Ridge City Council on March 3, 2025 gave staff consensus to proceed to final design on a 1.75-mile overhaul of West 30th Avenue between Youngfield Street and Kipling Street that will add continuous sidewalks, buffered on-street bike lanes, three roundabouts and a coordinated stormwater system.

Maria Deandre, the city's director of public works, summarized roughly 18 months of study and outreach and said the project's goals were to "improve the roadway to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists" and to "improv[e] stormwater drainage all along that entire stretch." The consultant cost estimate presented to council showed a construction figure of just over $19 million (including a 30% contingency at this early design stage); staff said burying overhead utilities would add about $7 million more.

Why this matters: 30th Avenue is a key east-west corridor with sidewalk gaps, drainage problems and safety concerns. The proposed design narrows travel lanes to psychological effect, adds buffer zones between vehicles and bike lanes, upgrades bus stops and installs three urban roundabouts at…