Nextlink put out word that it wanted to hire 150 new people right away. One magnet for high-tech companies is the presence of so many experienced workers. Colorado already has 145,655 high-tech workers, according to the American Electronics Association. High-tech clearly has pushed aside coal and cows here in the northern part of the Denver metropolitan area. In a way, however, Interlocken is not a great a leap from the coal towns of the early 20th century.
Employees can find housing in condominiums and apartments within sight of the industrial buildings.
The Interlocken section of Broomfield is emerging as a high-tech ghetto. The advantage is that people don't have to travel far to their jobs. One major change is Highway 36. That state road is also called the Boulder Turnpike because it runs from Boulder to Denver. Construction on that highway, which began in 1935, a year before the coal-mine explosion, continues.