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Since its incorporation in 2001, the City of Centennial, Colorado, has grown to become Colorado’s 10th most-populous city with more than 110,000 residents and is widely recognized as one of the best places to live and work in America. But Centennial’s noteworthy accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without innovative approaches and purposeful investment in the community by the city.

The city outsourced key activities where possible, seeking innovative partnerships to benefit businesses, the community and the environment. In 2008, the City entered into a public-private partnership with Xվ������ to achieve a high-performing Public Works Department, responsible for day-to-day operations and the management of capital projects. Working as an extension of the city, Xվ������ provides the necessary fulltime, onsite staff to deliver the large range of services including fleet maintenance, facilities management, park maintenance, traffic engineering, traffic management, snow removal, street rehabilitation, code compliance, management of field service contractors, staffing of the 24/7 Citizen Response Center and capital program management. The program scope has evolved over the years to adapt to the city’s ever-changing needs.

At the time, the partnership model was unique for a city of 100,000 residents, but now serves as a model for successful public-private partnerships across the United States. Together we have worked to make Centennial a model for what can be done when a city and the private sector collaborate. The partnership has received numerous industry awards for excellence in public works, quality and overall project delivery. In 2016, the Centennial Public Works Department achieved American Public Works Association Accreditation, the first privately run public works agency in the U.S to do so. And in 2021 and 2025, the department received full re-accreditation.

Adaptive framework to serve a dynamic community

Years of experience taught us that true progress begins with dialogue. When the city shared its most urgent challenges, we designed tailored solutions to meet them head-on.

One standout example: Centennia’s snow-route system was unevenly distributed, leading to inconsistent service. We reimagined the approach and applied route optimization techniques to rebalance the snow-route network. The result? A 40% reduction in route cycle time and a more consistent experience for residents. This application earned the Public Works Department national recognition in 2012 —؅ the Institute of Transportation Engineers honored the team with its Transportation Achievement Award for Operations.
 

Change is constant – Let’s plan on it  

No one can predict the future, but we can plan for the necessary wiggle room of life’s uncertainties. Our partnership designed a flexible and adjustable service through a value-exchange system. This system allows the city to adjust service levels and associated quantities based on changing priorities and demands. For example, if a mild winter requires less roadway striping in the spring, the city can decide to exchange those dollars for additional pothole patching. This allows the city to manage its budget more effectively over the contract’s lifetime while performance standards enable control of the timing and the amount of service performed while passing the risk of quality and deadline commitments to Xվ������. Now doesn’t that make planning for the future a little less daunting?

Technology-driven resilience

Centennial isn’t just prepared for winter — it’s ahead of it. Building on cutting-edge innovations in snow-route optimization, the city has embraced guided-driver technology and GPS-equipped trucks to elevate its response to extreme weather. Optimized snow routes are loaded into a routing device, enabling consistent service delivery regardless of adverse weather conditions. The snow-route optimization and guided-driver technology allow the city to extend services with its existing fleet to improve speed, frequency and range of snow plowing services, in turn improving community safety and transportation access during hazardous snow conditions.

Giving the community a voice

In Centennial, community input is streamlined. A dedicated, single point of contact makes it easy for residents to raise concerns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone or online. Requests are logged and a representative can provide updates every step up the way. 

Smart solutions for today and tomorrow

Centennial is setting the pace for smart-city innovation, both nationally and locally, by championing technologies that elevate services and improve everyday experiences for residents. From capital planning and grant pursuits to strategic transportation planning and traffic management, Xվ������ supports the city with tailored intelligent solutions.

Additionally, we developed the Intelligent Transportation System Master Plan to create a roadmap for incorporating and implementing smart technology utilizing fiber optic communications and “big data” to optimize the city’s transportation network. We developed and staff the Transportation Management Center to monitor traffic operations in real-time,  which enhances roadway safety, mobility and reliability. The city also has access to our global subject-matter experts to ensure it has resources at its fingertips to explore and pursue any existing and emerging technologies to be a world-class smart city.

The smart-city momentum continues with the recent acquisition of nearly 2,800 streetlights from Xcel Energy. The fixtures will be upgraded from high-pressure sodium bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs. This acquisition will also allow for smart nodes to be installed at each location, providing the capability to report outages in areas, pole tilt information and various other applications in real-time to minimize troubleshooting deficiencies.

Building services around what matters most

In Centennial, lasting impact is rooted in responsiveness. Every few years, the city invites residents to weigh in on the city's performance through a community-wide survey. The results? Consistently high marks in responsiveness and overall quality of life.

These insights also shape how the city and Xվ������ align priorities to better serve community needs in the years ahead.