Casa Vallarta Mexican Restaurant has been at Parker Road and Quincy Avenue since 1998. Last winter, the family that owns it told CBS Colorado they were worried about the year ahead. Commuters stuck in construction might "try to rush to their nine-to-five on any other route that they can," and pass up both the plaza and the restaurant's food truck, which sells burritos to people on their way to work.
That construction is now in its last weeks. The city expects every signal at the Parker/Quincy/Smoky Hill intersection to be fully operational by the second week of November.
Out at the other end of a typical southeast Aurora drive, the Gartrell Road bridge over E-470 is only about six months into a 14-month rebuild. The two projects run on different clocks, and they are paid for in very different ways. The Smoky Hill fix took ten years to get from study to signals and relied mostly on federal money. The Gartrell bridge is being paid for largely by southeast Aurora's own newer neighborhoods.
Where Smoky Hill Road ends, the work is down to signals and signs
The Parker/Quincy/Smoky Hill Intersection Improvement Project started in February 2026. As of the city's latest update, paving across the whole project area is finished. Crews are now on traffic signals, final signage and landscaping.
Work keeps going after the signals switch on. The city's own schedule shows more Quincy Avenue work from mid-November through mid-December, followed by median and interior-lane work from mid-December 2026 through January 2027. Finish dates have moved around the whole time. The city page still lists December 2026, 9News reported February 2027, and Denver7 said March 2027 when work began. It's safest to treat any of those dates as an estimate.
The changes drivers and walkers will notice most, according to the city's project page and the final design map:
- More turn lanes where Quincy meets Parker. The design map shows triple left-turn lanes near Parker and Quincy and signalized triple right-turn lanes near Atchison Way.
- A reworked Smoky Hill Road at Quincy, built to handle heavy peak-hour traffic heading north and south on Parker Road and Smoky Hill Road.
- No left turns from Rice Place onto southbound Parker Road. The city lists this as a safety change.
- "Do Not Block" markings at Atchison Way and Rice Place to keep homes and businesses reachable when traffic backs up.
- A new spot for the Parker Road crosswalk, moved to the north side of Quincy to cut down on conflicts with turning cars.
- A walkable connection to Cherry Creek State Park. The project adds new sidewalk on the west side of Parker and wider sidewalks on the east side of Parker and the north side of Quincy. 9News reported a 10-foot mixed-use path on north Quincy and a pedestrian refuge island.
The reason for all of this is the traffic count. 9News reported city figures of roughly 85,000 vehicles a day on Parker Road and 33,000 on Quincy, plus 40 reported crashes over the previous two years. Twenty-nine of those were rear-end or sideswipe collisions, the kind that happen when people are stacked up waiting to turn.
Ten years from study to signals
The fix you're driving through now was first identified in a 2016 study. Environmental clearance and early design started in 2020, and final design ran from early 2022 to late 2024. The city has also been coordinating with CDOT, Arapahoe County, Cherry Creek State Park and the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority.
9News put the price at $8.3 million, split roughly 80/20, with federal funds covering the larger share. The city says that federal money is administered through CDOT and DRCOG. Federal money comes with environmental reviews and agency sign-offs, and that helps explain how a 2016 recommendation turned into 2026 construction.
The two projects side by side
| Parker/Quincy/Smoky Hill | Gartrell Road over E-470 | |
|---|---|---|
| Construction start | February 2026 | May 2026 |
| Current forecast | Signals fully running by the second week of November; work continues into early 2027 | Completion by July 2027 |
| Cost | $8.3 million, as reported by 9News | $10.8 million |
| Main funding | About 80% federal, 20% city | 80% SARIA, 20% E-470 Public Highway Authority |
| Next big date | Signals, second week of November | Overnight full closure Nov. 17–19 |
Gartrell's bridge is the bigger change, and it's still mid-build
Gartrell is the way many households near Southlands and the Aurora Reservoir area get onto E-470. The city's project page calls it a critical corridor where rising traffic has created a need for more capacity. The plan widens the existing two-lane bridge to four lanes with turn lanes, adds new traffic signals and includes multimodal improvements. According to the Engage Aurora FAQ, the ramps will also be realigned to fit the wider bridge and signalized intersections, with bike and pedestrian paths on both sides.
The signals you drive through there now are a stopgap. Temporary signals at the E-470 ramp intersections went live in January 2024 to make left turns safer, and the E-470 Public Highway Authority paid about $1.2 million to build them.
Here's what this winter looks like on that stretch:
- Lane shift through July 27, 2027. One lane in each direction is shifted around the clock between Aurora Parkway and East Dry Creek Road. Lanes are narrower on the south side of the bridge, and the shoulders are closed.
- Full closure Nov. 17 to 19, evenings and overnight only. Gartrell will be closed over E-470 from Aurora Parkway to Dry Creek Road, and the official detour uses Arapahoe Road.
- Detours versus your phone. The city notes that mapping apps often pick the shortest route over the designated detour. During those three nights, the signed Arapahoe Road route is the one the city planned for.
Who's paying for Gartrell
The South Aurora Regional Improvement Authority, or SARIA, is covering 80% of the $10.8 million bridge, and the E-470 Public Highway Authority is covering the rest. SARIA is a cooperative of metro districts working with the city. City Council approved it in 2017 to finance and build regional transportation projects in southeast Aurora.
Its money mostly comes from the property tax bills of its members. SARIA's adopted 2026 budget lists 22 member districts in Arapahoe and Douglas counties. They include Beacon Point, Blackstone, Inspiration, Pronghorn Valley, Sorrel Ranch, Southlands No. 2, Wheatlands, Whispering Pines No. 1, and the numbered Forest Trace, Prairie Point, Kings Point South and Senac South districts. Each one pledges an Aurora Regional Improvement mill levy to SARIA. The budget describes that levy as generally one mill for years 1 through 20 and five mills for years 21 through 40, subject to adjustment. City transportation impact fees from property inside member districts can also go toward SARIA projects.
So if your home sits in one of those districts, a line on your property tax bill is helping widen the bridge you use to reach E-470. Whether a particular lot falls inside a member district depends on that district's own filings. This is general information and not tax or legal advice, so check your own bill and district documents with a qualified professional. Our earlier post on what southeast Aurora's metro districts actually cost covers the larger mill levy picture.
What SARIA has lined up next
Gartrell is one line in a longer list. The city's SARIA page lists Harvest Road improvements from Belleview to Orchard and the Quincy Avenue/E-470 ramp reconfiguration as completed. It also names a westbound Quincy lane from Plains Parkway to E-470 and Gun Club Road work from Quincy to Aurora Parkway. The 2026 SARIA budget sets aside $11.7 million for the Aurora Parkway Extension, $10.5 million for Gartrell Road and $3 million for Gun Club Road.
The Aurora Parkway project would add a new bridge over E-470 for a future extension toward Parker Road. A September 2025 SARIA board update estimated construction at $15 million and 12 to 15 months. On Gun Club Road, the city's project page describes a 1.5-mile stretch from Quincy to Aurora Parkway/Powers Place, built first as four lanes with six lanes as the long-term concept. As of June 2026, construction funding was still being identified.
The city sends weekly construction updates for the Parker/Quincy/Smoky Hill project by email to [email protected], and its Road Construction Updates page tracks Gartrell and other active work zones.
When the new signals come on at Parker and Quincy or the Gartrell detour goes up, neighbors in my SE Aurora Facebook community usually share what they're seeing on the road the same day. Join my SE Aurora community to swap commute updates with the people driving the same routes, and if you have questions about how a metro district or SARIA levy shows up for a home you own or are considering, reach out to Heather Christensen.
