Two city construction projects are tearing up Santa Fe Drive through 2028. Everyone agrees the corridor needs the work. This guide is for getting through it: which shops are open, where the official closure updates live, and what help exists for the businesses staying open.
Denver Water posts the current work area and it moves every few days, so its page is the one to trust. As of its October 2 update, crews were working between W 9th and W 10th, fully closed from 9am to 9pm on weekdays, with W 10th to W 11th expected next.
Detour: east on W 6th to Speer, north to W 13th, back west to Santa Fe. Denver Water does not work during First Friday Art Walks. Denver Water's project page has the latest.
These businesses are open behind the barricades. Hours, side-street access and parking notes included. Use it whether or not you ever vote for me.
910 Santa Fe Dr, Unit 6
8am to 3pm daily
Enter from the alley or W 9th when the front is barricaded.
DirectionsWe will list you here with your hours, access notes and links. Free, and you do not have to report a single number to be listed.
Free, and it takes two minutes. We list you as open with your hours, access notes and links so customers can still find you. You do not have to report a single number.
Closure news and changes to the Construction Guide, sent when there is something to report. No spin, no press release.
Campaign news is a separate box on purpose. The guide is a service, and it should be possible to want it without wanting anything to do with an election.
Denver already built the fix. The city ran a construction-impact grant program on East Colfax for BRT: $7,500 to $15,000 per business, roughly 125 businesses, about $1.6 million through the Business Impact Opportunity Fund. It worked. It has never been extended to Santa Fe.
Denver did this for Colfax. Do it for Santa Fe.
To be clear about where I stand: I am not against fixing Santa Fe Drive. The corridor needs the work and voters approved it. I am against fixing it in a way that bankrupts the people who waited years for it.
Two separate projects are tearing up the same street, run by two different agencies, and neither one tells you about the other. These are the primary sources. We link them so you do not have to take our summary for it.
Denver Water, replacing a 136-year-old main from 7th north to 12th in one to two block increments. This is the project closing the street right now. Posted hours are 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday, and the notice also allows some weekend work, typically 8am to 5pm.
Project page and update sign-upThe city's $29 million rebuild from 6th to 13th: wider sidewalks, drainage, lighting, trees. Voters approved it in November 2025. Sidewalk and mobility work starts after the water main, and the whole thing runs to the end of 2028.
Project page and update sign-upDenver's own construction-impact grant program, up to $15,000 plus one-on-one help, for businesses disrupted by city-funded construction. This is the program that was run for Colfax. Check the current round's eligibility yourself rather than assuming Santa Fe is covered.
Eligibility and how to applyThe Santa Fe Business Improvement District and the Art District on Santa Fe both track the streetscape work and both have a direct line to the contractors. If you are not talking to them yet, start.
The 58-acre rail yard one block west of Santa Fe runs 6th to 13th, the same blocks being dug up now, and it is the preferred site for the Broncos stadium and a mixed-use redevelopment targeting 2031. Rezoning, the small area plan and the infrastructure agreements are all still open, which means the decisions that will shape traffic, parking and rents on this corridor for the next decade are being made in meetings that are open to you right now.
Burnham Yard community planningIn August we tried counting what the construction costs the businesses staying open, using percentages the businesses reported themselves. We are no longer publishing new weeks. What was collected stays up as a record.