The Denver-based Regional Transport District (RTD) 2004 FasTracks program is a multi-billion dollar regional transportation expansion plan that was designed to meet the Denver metro area s infrastructural needs. The plan will add 122 new miles of light rail and commuter rail, 21,000 parking spaces at commuter stations (such as RTD Park-n-Ride lots) and 18 miles of bus rapid transit to the region. This level of investment is justified by Denver s rapid population growth rate of more than 10 percent in 2010-2014 with expectations of a further 50 percent growth by 2035 when the region is expected to top four million residents. The focus on transit supports not only Denver s general population growth but its increasing urbanization. During the past two decades, downtown Denver has transformed from an uninspiring industrial landscape to a trendy urban environment offering a high quality of life for professionals increasingly attracted by what the city has to offer. The past five years alone have seen nearly $5 billion invested in real estate projects. Several of these have followed public rail investments, such as the Cadence Union Station Apartments and Olde Towne Arvada. Denver s urbanization has seen an explosion in housing construction of both high-cost and affordable units, partially due to the FasTracks rail expansion. FasTracks includes investment in a number of new transit lines. The W line opened ahead of schedule in 2013 and next year will see the opening of four new rail lines in the Denver region. Additional lines are expected in the years to come, as is indicated in the chart below. The R line, an extension to existing Lincoln Station, is slated for 2016. Three more rail lines, implemented under the Eagle Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Project, are also slated to open in 2016 (line A to Denver International Airport, the first line B segment to Westminster and line G to Wheat Ridge). Future projects include an N line to Thornton that is scheduled to be operational in 2018, a central rail expansion called the L line, a 2.5-mile southwest rail line extension project that will extend the C and D lines one more station (C-470 Lucent), a 2.3 mile southeast rail line extension project that will extend the E and F lines three more stations to RidgeGate Parkway and an additional extension of the B line to Longmont. Overall, the FasTracks project includes $7.8 billion (up from $5.6 billion) in project expenditures. The project s financial plan includes $1.4 billion in Federal New Starts Grant funding as well as $215.1 million from other federal grants. A significant portion of FasTracks is funded by a 0.4% increase in the sales and use tax (RTD s primary revenue source) and additional sources include Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans, sales bonds, Certificates of Participation (COPs), pay as you go cash and local contributions. 1
FasTracks Project Summary Line Length (miles) Cost Opening Terminus W Line (West ) A Line (East Rail B Line (Northwest Rail G Line (Gold R Line (Aurora Line/I-225 Rail) N Line (North Metro Rail) 12.1 $707 mil (stayed within budget) 23 $2.2 billion Eagle P3 funds 6.2 (2016), eventually 41 total $17 mil for first segment (2016) from Eagle P3 funds 11.2 $2.2 billion Eagle P3 funds April 26, 2013 (8 months ahead of schedule) April 22, 2016 (scheduled) First segment to Westminster in 2016 (scheduled) Union Station to Jefferson County Government Center Union Station to Denver International Airport Union Station to Longmont 2016 Union Station to Wheat Ridge 22 $693.2 mil Winter 2016 Peoria to Lincoln 13 (2018), eventually 18.5 total Estimated $633.8 mil to first segment (Eastlake and 124 th Ave.) First segment to Eastlake and 124 th Ave. in 2018 Union Station to North Thornton Highway 7 L Line 0.8 Not yet available Not yet available A loop connecting rail trains between downtown Denver and the (planned) 38th Blake Station C Line D Line E Line F Line Project Descriptions 2.5 (Southwest 2.5 (Southwest 2.3 (Southeast 2.3 (Southeast $24.5 mil After 2040 Union Station to C-470 Lucent $24.5 mil After 2040 30 th Downing to C-470 Lucent $233.1 mil 2019 Union Station to RidgeGate Parkway $233.1 mil 2019 18 th California to RidgeGate Parkway The Eagle P3 Project, a component of the RTD s FasTracks plan for the Denver metro region, is a $2.2-billion-dollar project expected to be completed in 2016. It includes the A line (East Rail, the G line (Gold, the first segment of the B line (Northwest ) that runs to Westminster, construction of a commuter rail maintenance facility located near the intersection of routes I-25 and I-70, and acquisition of 54 commuter rail cars. The steel car bodies of the commuter rail cars were built in South Korea at the Hyundai Rotem plant and later sent to their Philadelphia, PA, plant for assembly and fittings (over 60 percent of the vehicle parts were made in the US). The trains are powered by overhead electric lines. Eagle P3 funding is derived from RTD sales taxes, federal loans and grants and private equity. The private partner, Denver Transit Partners (DTP) is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by Fluor Enterprises, John Laing Investments and Uberior Infrastructure Investments (part of Lloyds Banking Group). It was awarded the design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) contract in 2010. After the design-build phase is complete, Denver Transit Operators (DTO), a DTP subcontractor, will operate and maintain the infrastructure and commuter rail vehicles for 29 years. Macquarie sold its interest to Uberior and Laing at 2
financial close. The project came to commercial close in July 2010 and financial close in August 2010. The RFQ was issued in August 2008 and the RFP in September 2009. Only two of the three prequalified teams submitted full technical proposals in response to the RFP. The FTA provided a Full Funding Grant of $1.03 billion (the highest amount awarded under the Obama administration) and DTP provided approximately $450 million of the $2.2 billion required to build the A, B and G lines, specifically, $397.8 million in Private Activity Bonds (PAB) and $54 million in private equity. The financing package includes a $280 million TIFIA loan, the first for a transit project. B (Northwest ): this rail line, a segment of which will open in 2016, will eventually cover a distance of 41 miles and run between Union Station and Longmont. The first segment of 6.2 miles, which runs from Union Station to Westminster, is part of the Eagle P3 project and will open in 2016. The line will be a diesel-run commuter rail except for the P3 segment, which is to be electric. G (Gold : this line running from Union Station to Wheat Ridge, scheduled to open in 2016, will have seven stations. Construction began in 2011. A $30.4 million transit hub is being built in Olde Town Arvada, which will be the line s fifth rail stop. RTD is providing $2.6 million, with $24.3 million from Arvada and $3.5 million from grant funding. Trammell Crow Company is the City of Arvada s chosen transit hub developer, and both Kiewit Building Group, Inc. and RNL Architects are contributing to the facility s design and construction. The Olde Town Arvada rail developments have helped to spur a reported $227 million in local development projects in a five-block radius. A (East ): this line will run from Union Station to the Denver International Airport that is 23 miles away. In 2014 the line s first commuter rail cars arrived from Philadelphia, PA and testing began in 2015. The line has eight stations. Denver Union Station: The renovated Union Station opened in 2014, now transformed with new commuter rail platforms and an underground bus concourse with 22 gates at the Union Station Transit Center, a multimodal hub where light rail, commuter rail, intercity rail, special rail services, Amtrak, intercity buses and RTD buses meet. (Other existing stations include Boulder Transit Station, Civic Center Station and larger transfer stations between the FasTracks rail lines.) The $500 million project, a publicprivate collaboration, also includes development of the 10 blocks surrounding the station, adding residential, office and retail space. The transit center was built under a design-build contract awarded to Kiewit Western, and their project team included AECOM (Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations and Maintenance), Hargreaves Associates and SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill). In 2014, the Union Station project received the Design-Build Institute of America s (DBIA) Project of the Year award. 3
W (West ): This is the first FasTracks light rail line that opened, having become operational on April 26, 2013, eight months ahead of schedule. The 12.1 mile electric rail line runs from Union Station to the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden and has 12 stations. The project was built under a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) contract that was approved in 2006. The contractor was Denver Transit Construction Group (DTCG), a Lakewood-based, joint venture of Stacy Witbeck, Inc. from Alameda, California, and Herzog Contracting Corporation from St. Joseph, Missouri. Construction commenced in 2007. Construction included 10 light rail bridges, 20 at-grade crossings, two light rail tunnels, three street bridge reconstructions, over four miles of bike paths and a pedestrian tunnel. The Association of General Contractors (AGC) recognized the project by deeming it a Merit Winner of the 2013 Alliant Build America Award in their highway and transportation category. DTCG was one of six firms that received the merit award. The project also received the 2013 WTS (Women's Transportation Seminar) Colorado Large Innovative Transportation Solution of the Year award. The project cost $707 million, and a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the FTA provided around $309 million. Supplies and equipment cost $98,131,000, $71,020,000 was paid in direct wages and subcontractors (over 60 percent were local) were paid $250,000,000. N (North Metro Rail): This 18.5 mile electric commuter rail line will run from Union Station to the North Thornton Highway 7 in North Adams County and is scheduled to open in 2018. The line follows the Union Pacific path and is scheduled to have eight stations. RTD purchased the majority of the rail line s right-of-way for $119 million from Union Pacific Railroad in 2009 and, after receiving an unsolicited bid proposal in 2013, opened the bidding process and awarded the design-build contract for construction of the first 13 miles of the line to Eastlake to Regional Rail Partners (RRP), which includes six stations. RRP is a joint venture of Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. (BBII) and Graham. The first segment of the line has been estimated to cost approximately $633.8 million. The remainder of the line will be built when funds become available, at which point RTD can exercise an option for RRP to build the rest of the line. Twelve commuter rail cars were purchased for this line. The steel car bodies of the commuter rail cars were built in South Korea at the Hyundai Rotem plant and later sent to their Philadelphia, PA plant for assembly and fittings. They run via overhead electric lines. R (Aurora Line/I-225 Rail): this light rail line, at 22 miles total, is a 10.5 mile extension from the pre-existing Nine Mile station that will run north to the A Line. It currently has 18 stations. The R line will run 22 miles from the new Peoria station (part of the A line) to the existing Lincoln Station, which serves lines E and F. Construction for this $693.2 million project began in 2013 and is expected to open in 2016. 4
E and F (Southeast Rail Extension): in 2015, RTD provided a $140 million two-phase design-build contract award to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. to extend the light rail E and F lines 2.3 miles south to RidgeGate Parkway, with three new stations. The entire project total cost is estimated at $233.1 million and funding requires receipt of a Full Funding Grant Agreement from the FTA. Construction is expected to start in 2016 and the project completion date is estimated for 2019. The project includes purchase of eight light rail vehicles. D and E (Southwest Rail Extension): this expansion of the light rail D and E lines 2.5 miles south to C- 470 Lucent (Lucent highway), with one new station. The cost of the project is estimated to be $24.5 million and the construction of this extension is expected to commence after 2040. L (Central Rail Extension): this Central Rail Extension will consist of a 0.8 mile loop connecting rail trains between downtown Denver and the (planned) 38th Blake Station. There are two new stations anticipated. The project is currently in the designing and planning stage. 5