Another Intersection Closed for 16th Street Mall Construction to Reopen This Week

After being closed since February 21, the intersection of 16th and Stout streets is set to reopen by Friday, July 26.

This reopening is part of the major 16th Street Mall Project in which the city is renovating the 1.2-mile stretch between Market Street and Broadway. By the time the project is completed in fall 2025, improvements will include an expansion of pedestrian zones, new trees and a larger travel zone for the free 16th Street Mall Ride, according to plans.

Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure spokeswoman Nancy Kuhn says that although the intersection will reopen this week, there will be intermittent lane closures as construction crews tidy up traffic signals and perform minor cosmetic work on the sidewalks.

Each of the thirteen blocks under renovation will open in phases. Blocks one and two, between Market and Lawrence streets, opened in June for public use, followed by blocks on Arapahoe Street, Champa Street and Tremont Place. According to DOTI, 16th and Stout is the fifth closed intersection during construction to reopen.

The intersections of 16th and Blake and 16th and California are still shut down, however, and the intersection of 16th and Curtis streets is scheduled to close this month as part of the construction.

Blocks twelve and thirteen, between Court and Cleveland places, aren't scheduled to open until next fall.

The RTD Free Mall Ride is still available during the construction, running on 15th and 17th streets between Union Station and Champa Street.

According to city documents, $1.3 million in grants have been given out to over 120 businesses impacted by the construction, as of June 30. In May, Mayor Mike Johnston unveiled a plan that would extend the Downtown Development Authority beyond Union Station and onto the 16th Street Mall and surrounding blocks. If approved by voters in November, the authority would collect some of the incremental taxes generated in the area for business development and public projects.

In the meantime, the city is still trying to attract visitors to the mall.

"We held an official celebration of block two's opening in June, helping to kick off a summer of activation – bringing people downtown to 'preview' the new 16th Street, supporting businesses impacted by construction and reminding people what they love about downtown," Kuhn says.

After approval of the project in 2021, the city contracted PCL Construction for $149 million to break ground in April 2022. The entire renovation is expected to cost nearly $175 million over the three years of construction.

This article was updated on July 24 to correct an error stating the 16th and Stout intersection was the first to reopen after mall construction started.