Have you driven in northeast Denver recently? Have you tried attempts to make it through the area under and around the I-70 Central project? Do you feel like you no longer know that area, when you used to understand the lay of the land in that part of the city?
Sign me up for all of that: A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to get somewhere, and felt like I was having one of those really bad dreams where you are trapped in a maze. As I was trying to figure out things, I also was concerned about the people who are living there, on streets that seem to go nowhere and barricades everywhere. And, in story after story over the past 18-or-so months, how unhealthy the air might be during this construction project for the people who call that area home.
I happened upon a piece on The Denver Post, a teaser for a story this coming Sunday. “The Long Shadow” is like a slide show, with little text, but with important photos by Post photographer RJ Sangosti. The photo at the top of this post put me back in time on the road to nowhere that afternoon. (Venturing into the work at the National Western Center is also really interesting.)
The focus, though, is on the children living in northeast Denver with severe pulmonary problems, like asthma. The black-and-white photography is both stunning and disturbing. It’s about people, and not just a construction project that to many of us seems unnecessary.
The link to that teaser is below, along with some links to earlier stories on the project noted on the final slide of “The Long Shadow.” Actually, there are probably a thousand stories online on this project, if you have hours to sit at the computer. (I’ve also included a link to a wide-ranging interview with Denver’s recently re-elected mayor, appearing yesterday in Denverite. The Central I-70 project is not a specific topic covered, but David Sachs’ time with the mayor is well worth reading.)
https://extras.denverpost.com/longshadow/
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/30/i70-court-challenge-health/
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/07/29/i-70-construction-project-denver-transportation-central-70/
Chandler in Denver 