Colorado highway project faces setback after plutonium found

DENVER (AP) - A planned highway that would complete a belt route around the Denver metro area has seen a major setback.

The Broomfield City Council voted Tuesday to withdraw from the $250 million project after elevated plutonium levels were found last year in the soil near a former nuclear weapons plant northwest of the city. A councilman says it would be irresponsible to move forward.

Broomfield, Jefferson County and Arvada have been part of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority since it was formed in 2008. The authority's executive director did not say how the project might go ahead without Broomfield's participation.

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