The Bobcat Nation

In a couple weeks I'll be driving I 25 and going through Denver and wondering if there is a way and a reason to skirt around the center of Denver maybe by using route 470 that seems to circle around the east side of Denver. I would welcome advice from anyone with experience driving the Denver area. TIA

Guess I don’t know if you are used to major metropolitan city driving or not. But here is my two cents.

First, I lived in Denver metro area for 8 years and commuted on I-25 for 3 of those years.

Second I still drive through Denver area periodically traveling to and from Montana…usually going down to New Mexico or Texas.

I will drive I-25 if I am not in rush hour traffic…… and if I have any inkling of getting caught up in rush hour I take E470.

And my advice to you would be to take 470 if you are not familiar with the area or certainly not comfortable in large city driving. Pay the bucks to take the toll…less traffic, safer, you will feel less stressed and if you have a wife riding with you she won’t get to yell at you as often to “watch out”.

But maybe one of the current residents there will weigh in.

When I'm driving home from Billings I generally try to leave by 7am or after noon. Those times are flexible but if you can follow those you should be fine. Otherwise you'll have to consider traffic.

If you're coming through between about 2:30 and 6:30 check traffic on google maps when you're around Loveland or Longmont. If it looks bad 470 might be a better option. Outside of those times 25 is almost definitely going to be faster as it's a straight shot. E470 (east of Denver) is a toll road and will be faster than C470 (west of Denver) which is gets heavy traffic during times mentioned above.

Hey thanks BobcatDel and coloradocat . Heavy traffic doesn't bother me much as long as it's moving along, but do not care for slow moving traffic and if it becomes stop-start-stop traffic count me out. If I can keep to my planned schedule I'll be going through D in about the 11:00 - 12:00 or 1ish time frame. Thanks for the idea of checking google maps for traffic load. About how much is the toll on 470 east and what's the most convenient way of paying it? As far as my wife chirping at me, she's pretty quiet. I don't know if that's because I do a good job or she's afraid she'll be driving if much is said.

Joe Bobcat wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 4:02 pm

Hey thanks BobcatDel and coloradocat . Heavy traffic doesn't bother me much as long as it's moving along, but do not care for slow moving traffic and if it becomes stop-start-stop traffic count me out. If I can keep to my planned schedule I'll be going through D in about the 11:00 - 12:00 or 1ish time frame. Thanks for the idea of checking google maps for traffic load. About how much is the toll on 470 east and what's the most convenient way of paying it? As far as my wife chirping at me, she's pretty quiet. I don't know if that's because I do a good job or she's afraid she'll be driving if much is said.

According to the toll calculator on their website it's $22.25 to travel the full length of e-470 from the north intersection with I-25 to the south intersection. Tolls are calculated entirely through license plate cameras - they'll record how far you traveled and a bill will be sent to the address on your DMV registration that you can pay online or by mail. My suggestion would be similar to the others - if you're traveling southbound, stop around Fort Collins/Loveland and check the current traffic conditions on Google Maps. I-25 shouldn't be too bad around that time but if there's an accident or two that block lanes it can slow things way down and cause very lengthy backups. If your main goal is zero stress and you don't mind a longer route going around the city or the toll, then go with 470.

Thanks MSU01. With the help from all 3 of you I have put together a good game plan going into Denver and really appreciate the input from all of you.

Joe Bobcat wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:26 pm

Thanks MSU01. With the help from all 3 of you I have put together a good game plan going into Denver and really appreciate the input from all of you.

Are you continuing south on I-25, or will you be heading east on I-70? If so, you might consider taking US-85 from Cheyenne thru Greeley and Brighton, then hitting up I-76. Can skirt mostly around Denver this way. Last time I traveled on 25 south, there was a ton of construction and the closer to the 25/70 junction we got, the worse the potholes got.

grizzh8r wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 9:49 pm

Joe Bobcat wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:26 pm

Thanks MSU01. With the help from all 3 of you I have put together a good game plan going into Denver and really appreciate the input from all of you.

Are you continuing south on I-25, or will you be heading east on I-70? If so, you might consider taking US-85 from Cheyenne thru Greeley and Brighton, then hitting up I-76. Can skirt mostly around Denver this way. Last time I traveled on 25 south, there was a ton of construction and the closer to the 25/70 junction we got, the worse the potholes got.

Yeah thanks, but I have business in Colorado Springs and then further south on I-25. Pot holes and construction sounds fun, sort of like a root canal.

Joe Bobcat wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:26 pm

Thanks MSU01. With the help from all 3 of you I have put together a good game plan going into Denver and really appreciate the input from all of you.

If you take I-70 east to I-225 south, you bypass the worst part of 25 thru downtown and there are no tolls this way. But it does have traffic.

It rejoins I-25 just north of the tech center which can be busy too but it's a short stretch of about 3 miles and as long as you aren't hitting it at rush hour, you'll be ok. And it's shorter than going all the way out to E470.

E470 will have way less traffic, though, so if that's what you're looking for, stick with that.

Driving I 25 towards Denver. The closer you get to Denver the speed limit slows down and the traffic speeds up.

77matman wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:13 am

Driving I 25 towards Denver. The closer you get to Denver the speed limit slows down and the traffic speeds up.

True of basically any major metro area, unless there's construction or traffic accidents. Dallas, Denver, KC, St. Louis, Nashville, OKC, Vegas... Driven through all of them and it's wash, rinse, repeat.

MSU01 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 6:53 pm

Joe Bobcat wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 19, 2023 4:02 pm

Hey thanks BobcatDel and coloradocat . Heavy traffic doesn't bother me much as long as it's moving along, but do not care for slow moving traffic and if it becomes stop-start-stop traffic count me out. If I can keep to my planned schedule I'll be going through D in about the 11:00 - 12:00 or 1ish time frame. Thanks for the idea of checking google maps for traffic load. About how much is the toll on 470 east and what's the most convenient way of paying it? As far as my wife chirping at me, she's pretty quiet. I don't know if that's because I do a good job or she's afraid she'll be driving if much is said.

According to the toll calculator on their website it's $22.25 to travel the full length of e-470 from the north intersection with I-25 to the south intersection. Tolls are calculated entirely through license plate cameras - they'll record how far you traveled and a bill will be sent to the address on your DMV registration that you can pay online or by mail. My suggestion would be similar to the others - if you're traveling southbound, stop around Fort Collins/Loveland and check the current traffic conditions on Google Maps. I-25 shouldn't be too bad around that time but if there's an accident or two that block lanes it can slow things way down and cause very lengthy backups. If your main goal is zero stress and you don't mind a longer route going around the city or the toll, then go with 470.

Was coming here to say that about the tolls. There was no toll booth, so I thought they weren't collecting, or there was a toll holiday or something. Was quite surprised to get the bill in the mail several weeks later.

I also lost my power steering on I-25 on my way back to Billings just north of downtown Denver. Yup, that was a fun drive back home.

I just want to do a follow up on my trip through Denver. When I started this thread I had very low expectations of getting any responses that would help but instead got many responses and all were helpful for planning and in practice. Thank you all so much. We made it through on I 25 after having checked that traffic was flowing well and it was nice to know what our other options were if we needed them. Thanks BN