East Colfax BRT Opens First Bus-Only Section as Denver Summit FC Breaks Ground on $150M Stadium at Santa Fe Yards

East Colfax BRT Activates Dedicated Center Bus Lanes from Broadway to Colorado Blvd

DENVER, Colorado — Marking a transformative operational milestone for the Mile High City’s busiest surface transit corridor, the City and County of Denver alongside the Regional Transportation District (RTD) opened the first completed section of the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor to Bus Only Lane Operations (BOLO) in October 2026. RTD bus routes 15 and 15L officially transitioned into brand-new, dedicated center-running lanes with newly poured mid-road passenger boarding platforms between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard.

Contractors dismantled construction barriers along the 2.5-mile initial segment and celebrated the ceremonial final 'arch lift' at Uinta Street on October 5. When the full 8.5-mile corridor to I-225 in Aurora opens in 2027, the Lynx BRT system will provide 4-minute peak headways, reducing end-to-end travel times by up to 30 percent.

Denver Summit FC Breaks Ground on 13,000-Seat Stadium at Santa Fe Yards

In landmark sports and urban redevelopment news, civic leaders and professional soccer executives gathered on October 1, 2026, to celebrate the official groundbreaking of a 13,000-seat professional stadium at Santa Fe Yards. Serving as the permanent home of Denver Summit FC (National Women's Soccer League), the venue anchors a 14-acre sports and entertainment district on the former Gates Rubber Company brownfield property near South Broadway and Interstate 25.

The project incorporates a boutique hotel, public gathering plazas, and hundreds of transit-oriented residential units directly adjacent to the Broadway light rail station, with stadium completion scheduled for late 2028 ahead of the 2029 inaugural season.

Burnham Yard Re-Imagined as $4B Stadium and Transit-Oriented Neighborhood

Momentum across Denver's urban core surged further as the Denver Broncos advanced master-planning agreements to redevelop the historic 65-acre Burnham Yard site into a state-of-the-art $4 billion retractable-roof stadium and mixed-use residential district. Municipal leaders praised the synchronized momentum across transit corridors and sports entertainment districts, stating that Denver is building a walkable, world-class city for future generations.