Peña Boulevard Construction

Peña Blvd. Traffic Alert: Work underway to improve safety and traffic flow.

Upcoming Work & Impacts

Visitors to DEN should expect various impacts through fall 2026. All are encouraged to plan ahead due to traffic impacts and detours along and surrounding Peña Boulevard and Jackson Gap Street. All work is weather dependent and will be rescheduled if operations cannot be completed.

Peña Boulevard Outbound Construction: Minor lane impacts anticipated on outbound Peña between the terminal and Jackson Gap as the project nears completion.

Follow DEN Social Media for additional updates (links at the bottom of the page).

Navigating the Jackson Gap Diverging Diamond Interchange

The new Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) at Jackson Gap and Peña Blvd. opened Saturday, October 18, 2025. The DDI is one of the newest in the State of Colorado and first for the City and County of Denver.

The DDI improves operations to meet future growth for vehicle traffic operations while reducing impacts to DEN passengers, rental car buses and other users.

Learn more about navigating through the new Jackson Gap Diverging Diamond Interchange with the videos on the left and below.

Jackson Gap to Jeppesen Terminal Jackson Gap to Outbound Peña Boulevard/Airport Exit

Phase 1B Underway

Reconstruction of Peña Boulevard Outbound and widening of Peña Boulevard bridges (inbound and outbound) over Jackson Gap Street. Provides resiliency for events on Peña Boulevard and reduces O&M costs for pavement maintenance.
Construction of new Direct Connect Ramps from both East and West Terminals to New Castle Street and 78th Avenue. Meets operational needs of Rental Car companies and DEN Ground Transportation, dedicated routes for buses will remove the buses from the Jackson Gap interchange and will not mix with public traffic.
Reconstruction of Peña Boulevard and Jackson Gap Street to a new diverging diamond interchange. Improves operations to meet future growth for vehicle traffic operations; reduces impacts to DEN passengers, Rental Car buses, and other users. Learn more about navigating through the new Jackson Gap Diverging Diamond Interchange with the following videos:Navigating Through at Jackson GapJackson Gap to Jeppesen Terminal
Jackson Gap to Outbound Peña Boulevard/Airport Exit

Improving Peña Boulevard

Peña Boulevard has reached its life-expectancy, requiring a major upgrade that will keep pace with DEN growth and reaching Vision 100. Maintaining and appropriately rehabilitating the infrastructure is critical in providing service and good quality to its users and passengers.

Due to Peña Boulevard’s significant volume and usage the rehabilitation will be completed in four phases to support on-time delivery and to manage the operations and retain some capacity during construction. The first phase consisted of improvements to inbound Peña Boulevard including the reconstruction of Peña Boulevard from Jackson Gap Street to the terminal and concluded in early 2022.

Peña Boulevard Phase 1B work was approved by Denver City Council in March 2024 and construction began in April 2024. This phase provides improvements to overall traffic operations and safety for passengers, employees and shuttle traffic.

Lasting Improvements, Benefits and Impacts

The Peña Boulevard Phase 1B improvements follow the strategic guiding principals of Vision 100, providing lasting improvements and benefits for today and in advance of known development growth and shuttle/passenger traffic increases at DEN.

Sustainability & Resiliency

Bridge renewal work extends life-expectancy
Pavement reconstruction reduces annual maintenance repairs and cost
Utilizing infrastructure built during construction of Hotel Transit Center for Direct Connect Ramps
Registered for Envision, ensuring sustainable, resilient and equitable tactics are incorporated throughout planning, design and construction

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility:

Construction project includes city workforce requirements providing apprenticeship and training opportunities and workforce development goals
Project is following Division of Small Business requirements and goals set for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises participation
Gun Club On-ramp was bid as a Small Business Set Aside

Operational Excellence:

Direct Connect Ramps for Rental Car buses will reduce delays and remove trips from Peña Boulevard outbound
Work will reduce accidents and improve vehicle operations
Jackson Gap Street Diverging Diamond Interchange reduces delays and improves traffic operations

Enhancing the Customer Experience:

Additional lanes provides operational improvements minimizing delays to access the terminal for years to come
Improvements align the infrastructure with the projected Vision 100 volumes in the future
Widened shoulders provide safety benefits for Peña Boulevard users