Eagle to Gypsum: How likely is new I-70 exit?

The Eagle Town Council received an update on the effort to create a new interchange for Interstate 70 just outside the town’s borders in Gypsum on Tuesday; and council members took the opportunity to ask a few questions.

Among them: What’s the chance that this actually happens?

The I-70 Eagle Airport interchange project originated in the 2000s, when CDOT carried out an environmental review and evaluated the necessary railroad crossing. However, the project was put on hold in 2010 because funding was unavailable. In 2024, the town of Gypsum chose to revive the effort, and Gypsum Engineer Matt Figgs on Tuesday said that effort is going well so far.

Gypsum was recently awarded at $1.5 million planning grant from USDOT’s Build American Bureau’s Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (RTA) for design work, something Figgs said has added momentum to the project.

“It shows that they’re willing to invest in the engineering design of the project,” he said.

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Eagle Mayor Bryan Woods said whether or not the project happens “puts us into very different positions for our own transportation planning.”

Figgs said the project is moving up in priority at the state level and he’s confident that it will happen.

“We were recently added to their STIP, which is their short-term planning list, and so we do have an STIP number, which means that we’re kind of moving up that list, so to speak, from a state perspective,” Figgs said.

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Figgs said the project is estimated to cost $150 million, and the earliest it could get started is 2029.   

Council Member Jamie Woodworth Foral asked Figgs how likely it is that the town will be able to come up with the required $150 million over the next three years. 

“We are incredibly committed to this project, and I think we’re excited because we’re starting to grow some momentum behind the project,” Figgs said. “I think we have, in our minds, a funding scenario that could get us there. Obviously it’s gonna take some help, some federal grants, to get us across the finish line, but we are moving forward full steam ahead and fully believe that we are going to get this across the finish line.”

Council Member Geoff Grimmer asked how much funding Gypsum is planning to receive from the federal government.

“At this time, I think most of our funding strategy looks more at federal funding than state funding,” Figgs said.

Figgs said Gypsum is committed to the project because recent and incoming growth has put immense pressure on Highway 6 between Eagle and Gypsum.

“Eagle and Gypsum’s populations have outpaced the growth in the county,” Figgs said, stating that over the last 25 years Eagle and Gypsum have grown from comprising 16% of the county’s population to now comprising more than 30%. 

“And it’s pretty astounding how much traffic we have in our community,” he said. “Highway 6 between Eagle and Gypsum is actually the busiest stretch of non-interstate road in the entire county.”