At East Arapahoe Road and South Revere Parkway, every left turn is blocked. You also can't drive straight across Arapahoe heading north or south. Crews are digging a new culvert and a separate underpass so people on the Lone Tree Creek Trail can go under Arapahoe instead of using the crosswalk at Revere. Work started in April 2026, and the city expects to finish in spring 2027.
The project costs $5.81 million. Centennial's share is about $482,000.
Voters turned down Ballot Issue 2A on November 3. That vote has nothing to do with the work zone at Revere, and the reason why explains what the result changes for the rest of Centennial. The projects that come with orange barrels and ribbon cuttings are mostly paid for by grants and money already set aside. The 2A money would have gone mainly to recurring upkeep like repaving, fixing potholes and keeping trucks on the streets, and that's the part now under review.
The Underpass Was Never on the Ballot
The Lone Tree Creek Trail underpass got its money through the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Both agencies picked it for the 2026–2029 Transportation Improvement Program, which covers 90% of construction. Arapahoe County Open Space funds help cover the rest. Several other projects on the city's list are paid for the same way.
| Project | Where things stand | How it's paid for |
|---|---|---|
| Lone Tree Creek Trail underpass at E. Arapahoe Rd. | Under construction since April 2026; finish expected spring 2027 | CDOT/DRCOG grant covers 90% of construction, plus county open space funds |
| Colorado Blvd. multimodal, Arapahoe Rd. to Dry Creek Rd. | Construction set to start late 2026 or early 2027 | 90% of construction money awarded |
| S. Havana St. and E. Easter Ave. intersection | Construction expected spring 2027 | CDOT/DRCOG grant |
| Arapahoe Rd. sidepaths, S. Peoria St. to Jordan Rd. | Construction expected spring 2027 | Federal and state grants through DRCOG, CDOT and other partners |
| Dry Creek bridges over Willow Creek and Big Dry Creek | Design started in 2026 | $9.571 million proposed in set-aside balances, toward an estimated $10 million per bridge |
The Colorado Boulevard mile is the first big piece of a corridor study the city adopted in June 2021. The sidepaths along Arapahoe are paths about twice as wide as a standard sidewalk. They'll fill gaps between Peoria and Jordan, add ADA curb ramps, and replace the wood fence along Algonquin Acres with a brown or beige concrete fence. Neighbors picked that finish at the project's open house. One recent project is already finished. The Arapahoe Road bridge over Big Dry Creek was rebuilt and completed in 2025.
The proposed budget also has $1.75 million for streetlights on Smoky Hill Road and $125,000 for a corridor study there. The study is meant to shape later spending decisions. Smaller line items include $900,000 for a traffic signal at Buckley and Crestline and $2.6 million for improvements at Colorado and Euclid.
The $20 Million Gap Under the Street Fund
The grant-funded list looks steady. The upkeep money is where the strain shows. In its November 5 announcement, the city said its Street Fund gets about $15 million a year in dedicated revenue, while running and maintaining the road system takes at least $35 million a year. The city has covered the difference with leftover General Fund money and reserves, and it projects that money will get tighter in future budgets.
The proposed 2027 budget shows how much the street system already leans on outside money. It moves $37.45 million from the General Fund into the Street Fund and counts on $25.72 million in state grants. 2A would have raised the city's sales and use tax from 2.5% to 3.5%. That was expected to bring in about $27 million a year starting January 1, 2027, set aside for traffic safety, potholes, pavement preservation, rebuilding roads, bridges and sidewalks. A July council presentation said Centennial's 2.5% city sales tax rate was the lowest of 38 comparable places it looked at, where the average was 3.63%.
The roads aren't in bad shape. The city's target for its Pavement Condition Index is 60 to 70, and the current score is at the top of that range. Keeping it there is a yearly bill, and that bill is what 2A was written to pay.
Paving and Plowing Have No Grant Behind Them
The proposed 2027 street rehabilitation program is $15.545 million, and 2028 is $15.226 million. The 2027 money splits into three parts:
- Mill and overlay: $7.6 million
- Concrete work: $6.8 million
- Slurry and crack seal: $1.04 million
Three major streets are slated for mill and overlay in 2027: South Himalaya Street and South Reservoir Road, East Buckley Avenue, and South Potomac Street. Each job costs more than $1 million. The city also plans to rebid its mill-and-overlay contract in 2027. Denver Water will keep working on city streets that year, and repaving for those streets is already scheduled for 2028. The budget says scopes will keep changing based on bids and utility work. It also expects a major policy discussion in late 2027 or early 2028 about how the city keeps funding street repairs.
In November, snow matters more than asphalt. Under Centennial's current snow and ice plan, plowing in a severe storm can be limited to Priority 1 arterials. When the City Manager orders residential streets plowed, those Priority 3 streets get one pass in each direction from pickup-truck plows, with no deicer. That's the plan as it stands today, before any changes.
The July council presentation laid out what the city could do if no new money came in. The list included cutting sheriff services, street maintenance, snow removal or other transportation services, putting off or dropping capital projects, drawing on reserves, or borrowing. These were options on the table, and the city hasn't chosen any of them. After the vote, the city said it would look at project priorities, service levels and funding choices for every service except parks and open space. Those are paid for by money that can only be spent on parks.
Two Readings of the Same Pavement
Supporters and opponents mostly agreed on the facts. They disagreed about what the facts meant. In a guest opinion in the Denver Gazette, Mayor Christine Sweetland argued that ongoing infrastructure costs outrun the Street Fund's dedicated revenue, and that leaning on the General Fund puts pressure on other services. She also pointed to more than $100 million in improvements in the city's transportation plan. The yes campaign, Keep Centennial Moving, described the work as covering 1,150 lane-miles, 94 bridges and 92 traffic signals and intersections.
Councilmember Don Sheehan, who represents District 4, took the other side in his own Denver Gazette column. He wrote that the city's roads averaged "Very Good" on a seven-level scale and that reserves and yearly surpluses made the tax unnecessary. He also said it would be a burden on residents, including people on fixed or low incomes. Centennial founder John Brackney told Denver7 he opposed raising the rate by 40%. He pointed to household costs and suggested annexing unincorporated areas as another way to bring in revenue.
Unofficial tallies tracked by Keating Research showed 2A getting about 41% yes. After the vote, the mayor's statement put the next steps in her own words:
"The needs of our roads, bridges, and sidewalks haven't changed, and neither has our commitment to keeping Centennial safe and well maintained. We will work together to put a plan in place to address these needs responsibly, and we will keep residents informed along the way."
Results stay unofficial until Arapahoe County certifies them. Updates are posted on ArapahoeVotes.gov.
Tuesday, November 17, at the Civic Center
The first decision comes next week. City Council will hold public hearings on the 2027 budget on Tuesday, November 17, at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 13133 E. Arapahoe Road. The budget is scheduled to be adopted that night. Copies are available on the city's website and at the Civic Center. Any Centennial voter can send written objections to the City Clerk at [email protected] any time before the budget is adopted.
The sales tax increase itself won't be on that agenda. Ordinance No. 2026-O-21 had its first reading on November 2. Its second reading and public hearing, set for November 17, have been tabled indefinitely and taken off the agenda. So the November 17 hearing is about how a budget written before the vote fits the money the city actually has. The underpass at Revere, the Colorado Boulevard mile and the Havana and Easter intersection are already paid for. Next spring's repaving on Buckley, Potomac and Himalaya is part of the budget that council takes up November 17.
I'll be following the budget hearing and what it means for the streets Centennial uses every day. If you're planning around road work or a move and want to talk it through, Lisa Snyder is happy to walk you through what's planned near your home. Let's Connect.
