A 2-mile stretch of East Colfax Avenue that has been torn up since late 2024 is finally set to reopen, with the corridor's new center-running bus lanes opening to traffic on September 27. The completed segment runs between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard, and the city and local businesses plan to mark the milestone with a community celebration on Colfax Avenue the following day, September 28.
The reopening covers a 2-mile piece of a larger 2.5-mile construction section, according to Denverite, whose reporting anchors much of what's known about this specific milestone. The redesigned avenue includes two center bus-only lanes flanked by steel arches at each station, replacing what used to be four traffic lanes plus occasional dedicated turning lanes. Denverite reports the new design also narrows the remaining traffic lanes, and bus drivers began training on the rebuilt avenue and its new traffic signal system back in August.
Buses will start driving in the center lanes and passengers will begin using the new stations later this month, but riders shouldn't expect the full bus rapid transit experience just yet. Per the same Denverite report, the system does not yet include the custom new buses, real-time schedule displays, or ticket machines that are meant to define the finished product — those pieces are still being built out.
A Long Road Still Ahead
This 2-mile opening is an interim milestone, not the finish line. According to the Regional Transportation District, full transformation of the corridor remains a multi-year effort extending into late 2027 or early 2028, and Denverite's reporting similarly puts the broader system's completion at least a year away, with full BRT service expected in 2027.
The complete corridor, once finished, will stretch 8.5 miles from downtown Denver to the Colfax Station at Interstate 225 in Aurora, RTD says, combining dedicated center-running lanes in Denver with side-running transit lanes in Aurora. Construction on the Aurora segment broke ground May 1, 2026, according to RTD, more than a year and a half after Denver's portion broke ground in October 2024.
The project carries a total estimated cost of $280.5 million, funded through a $149.9 million Federal Transit Administration Small Starts grant, $65 million from Denver's Elevate Denver bond, $28.5 million from the Denver Regional Council of Governments, and $14 million from the City of Aurora, according to Colorado Politics. Denver City Council was scheduled to consider a $197.3 million general construction contract with Kraemer North America LLC in September 2024 to handle the corridor's dedicated lanes and station infrastructure. RTD has ordered 47 custom 60-foot articulated buses featuring three doors, level boarding, and interior bike racks — vehicles that explain why standard buses, not the finished BRT fleet, will be running in the new center lanes this fall.
Faster Rides, Higher Stakes
The payoff transit officials are promising is real: once fully complete, the line is projected to reduce travel times by up to 30 minutes, RTD says. New Colfax bus service is expected to run every 4.3 minutes. That matters because Routes 15 and 15L, which the Colfax Lynx will replace, are among RTD's most-ridden routes, making East Colfax the highest-ridership bus corridor in RTD's entire system.
The redesign is also meant to address safety on a street Denverite describes as one of the most dangerous roads in Denver — center-running lanes are intended to reduce buses' exposure to curbside hazards like double-parked delivery vehicles and illegal parking. That safety concern isn't hypothetical: Hoodline previously reported on a crash that left a pedestrian badly hurt and snarled traffic along the corridor in July.
Businesses Count The Cost Of Construction
For merchants who have lived alongside two years of torn-up sidewalks and shifting parking, the reopening is bittersweet. Denverite reports that Colfax-area business revenues dropped during construction, and that the city supported Pete's Kitchen and other businesses through the disruption. Alex Barakos, general manager of Pete's Kitchen, told Denverite that the diner's revenues fell more than 10 percent during the buildout — even as Denverite's own analysis found that business openings and closings along Colfax have remained about the same as in previous years.
Not every business made it through. The city has also supported businesses during the disruption. Even so, Hoodline previously reported that 10-year taco spot Machete Tequila + Tacos closed permanently in January, and other businesses have also struggled during construction.
Part Of A Bigger Transit Bet
The East Colfax project includes center-running BRT lanes in Denver, while the broader corridor also includes side-running transit lanes in Aurora. For now, the September 27 opening gives East Colfax riders and merchants a visible sign of progress, even as the corridor's full transformation, and its side-running counterpart in Aurora, remains more than a year from completion.
