How bad would this commute be? (Denver, Englewood: rental, transfer, to buy)

[FormerAK]

In the process of relocating. My husband recently transferred to Denver Federal Center and we've got a 12 month rental near Kipling & Morrison Rd., which is a fairly easy commute for him.

I had planned on taking my time, looking for work once we arrived and gauging commute distances, traffic, etc. However, I went ahead and started sending out resumes and applications, figuring it might take a bit to get an interview. Fortunately (or unfortunately), based on a good phone interview, it appears I might be looking at a potential job sooner than I expected in Greenwood Village near I-25 & E. Orchard. Google maps puts it at 16 miles (est 31 minutes) via 285 to I-25.

Since I'm not getting there until this Sunday, I'm hoping someone will tell me how reasonable or unreasonable this commute might be? I have no idea about traffic flow, etc. yet.

Thanks much!

[zoonik]

The problem with that part of the southwest burbs is the complete lack of continuous east-west options that continue the entire way (from C470 to I-25).

West Hampden/285 is pretty much your only option. West of Broadway, 285 is a four lane divided highway, traffic can be heavy and that portion seems to be perpetually under construction in the summer. East of Broadway it increases to three lanes in each direction, but it's stop and go traffic lights all the way to I-25.

Your alternative is to take other east west city streets and backtrack up and down Wadsworth/Sheridan/Federal to get all the way across to I-25 or to backtrack to C470 and head over.

Bottom line: Off peak hours I would expect 30 mins. During rush hour budget 35-45 mins.

[JMM64]

Definitely doable in terms of time as Zoonik said, it just won't be cheap in terms of gasoline costs.

However the new west metro light rail line can get you to the Federal Center from Greenwood Village more cheaply, but it takes about an hour doing it this way because of all the stops. There is a light rail station at I-25 and Orchard, and you just have to take the E line north to Auraria West station in Downtown Denver, then switch to a W line train to get to the Federal Center Station. It's simple and cheaper (about $15.00 a week) just a little more time consuming.

So whichever issue is more important to you (time vs cost) should help your decision.

[davebarnes]

Draw a line between the 2 work locations and then strive to live along that line.

[davidv]

Here is a detailed description from someone who has driven this route many times.

From Kipling and Morrison to US-285 will take 2 min.

Once you get on US-285 (Hampden Blvd), it is a four lane divided highway all the way up to Lowell/Knox Ct. There is a light at Lowell/Knox that backs up traffic about 1/4 mile during a normal rush hour. It will take about 4-6 minutes from US-285/Kipling to get to US-285 and Lowell/Knox.

When it snows, it can back up the traffic all the way to Wadsworth (2 1/2 miles). That stretch can take up to 15 min. to travel.

From Lowell to Santa Fe it will take about 3-5 min and traffic moves fine until you hit Englewood. Traffic will move slowly from just before Santa Fe to just past Broadway. This stretch takes about 5-6 min. to travel.

East of Broadway, if you get in the far right lane, you can bypass a lot of the backups at University and Colorado. The road is three lanes to Colorado Blvd. and two lanes after Colorado Blvd. From Broadway to Colorado it takes about 5-6 min.

The bottleneck of going back to two lanes makes the traffic go slower so it takes about 8-10 min. to go from Colorado to I-25.

Total time from Kipling and US-285/Hampden to Hampden and I-25 during rush hour is about 20-25 min. Traffic on I-25 usually moves pretty fast so it is only about 4-6 min from Hampden and I-25 to I-25 and Orchard.

There are some back ways to avoid the messes, especially when it snows, but they are top secret.

Bottom line, It takes about 30-35 minute to get there from Kipling and Morrison Rd.

When it snows, all bets are off. But that is pretty much true of all commutes in Denver.

PS. Forgot about the West Line. This could be an alternate route when it snows.

[FormerAK]

Wow! Thanks to all who responded! This certainly helps. It sounds like, if the job ends up being a winner, that the commute is tolerable in the short term and looking for someplace mid-way between the two workplaces is doable in the long term. As soon as our place in WA sells, we'll be looking to buy somewhere that works for both of us.

Really appreciate all the help!