Denver right-of-way work needs the right permit first

The strip of pavement and curb in front of a Denver property feels like an extension of the yard, but it belongs to the public. That is the right-of-way, and the city decides who gets to dig into it, block it, or set anything on top of it.

Three permits cover the common cases. A street cut permit applies when you open the pavement, say to reach a buried line. A street occupancy permit covers parking a dumpster, staging materials, or closing a lane. A right-of-way construction permit covers larger builds in that public strip. All three are submitted online through Denver’s E-Permits portal, not arranged with a phone call or a handshake. The same right-of-way services counter also issues permits for signs, encroachments, patios, and other uses that reach into public space.

The reason the city wants a say is sitting right there at the curb. A dumpster narrows the travel lane. A trench can redirect drainage or undercut a sidewalk. Closing the walk pushes pedestrians into traffic, and digging near the curb can threaten a street tree’s roots or someone’s driveway access. The permit is how all of that gets looked at before a problem appears.

So the moment to sort permits is while the job is still on paper, alongside the bid and the schedule. Denver’s right-of-way pages spell out which permit each task needs. Starting a crew first and asking later tends to mean a stopped job and a blocked curb in the meantime.