Santa Fe Drive between West 6th and West 13th avenues looks like a construction zone that won't quit, and for at least one business owner along the corridor, the disruption is hitting hard. Sasha Zanabria, who owns El Taco de Mexico, says her restaurant's sales have fallen roughly 30% since work began this summer, even as city officials maintain that the broader streetscape overhaul is proceeding on schedule.
A $29 Million Overhaul With Years Still to Go
The project reshaping the corridor is formally known as the Santa Fe Streetscape Improvements project, a $29 million effort that will rebuild the roadway between West 6th and West 13th avenues, according to CBS News Colorado. The work includes wider sidewalks, improved intersections, upgraded drainage, new street lighting, additional trees and planters, and public art, while at least one lane will remain open and vehicle access and parking are meant to be maintained, per KDVR. The City and County of Denver Government flagged the project again in a Facebook post this week, describing it wryly as “everyone's favorite topic: road construction.”
Road closures tied to the work have run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, with detours set up for northbound Santa Fe Drive traffic, the same KDVR report notes. Despite the disruption, pedestrian access to businesses along the corridor is supposed to be maintained, and parking and access are expected to remain available through side streets where water-line work isn't actively underway, according to the earlier CBS News Colorado report on the timeline.
Underground Work Driving Much of the Disruption
Much of the current headache traces back to aging infrastructure beneath the street. Denver Water is replacing more than 2,800 linear feet of aging water mains between West 7th and West 12th avenues, according to the utility's own project updates. That work began in August, and as of Oct. 8, crews had started water main installation between West 10th and West 11th avenues, with the utility reporting the replacement work was more than halfway complete.
Denver Water's own project page states the pipe work is expected to be completed by late 2026, while a separate CBS News Colorado report puts the completion timeline at the end of 2026. Denverite has reported that the full closure tied to the utility work is expected to extend through the first quarter of 2027, after which one lane of travel should reopen.
Adding to the congestion, Xcel Energy was scheduled to begin replacing a gas main between West 6th and West 8th avenues on Oct. 12, with that work expected to continue through the end of the year, per CBS News Colorado's reporting. City officials told the outlet that the project is progressing as planned and that crews are coordinating work to reduce disruptions to nearby businesses.
Business Owner Says the Toll Is Real
For Zanabria, the official timeline offers little comfort in the meantime. She told CBS News Colorado that sales have fallen about 30% since construction began, a steep hit for a small business trying to stay afloat through a years-long rebuild.
Denver has used financial support programs during past infrastructure projects to help affected merchants. During the East Colfax Avenue Bus Rapid Transit project, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority issued around $1 million in Community STAND grants to businesses along that corridor, according to the same CBS News Colorado report. Whether similar support will reach Santa Fe Drive businesses isn't addressed in available reporting.
Looking ahead, the broader rebuild is estimated to take about two years in total, with remaining project work continuing through 2028, Denverite reports. KDVR likewise states the full streetscape project is expected to be done by 2028 — meaning Santa Fe Drive corridor businesses are likely facing years, not months, of construction before the wider sidewalks, landscaping and improved public spaces promised by the plan are finally in place.
