Denver RTD touts FasTrack accomplishments
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefDenver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) Wednesday tallied up its top 10 milestones notched by its FasTracks program in 2010, as a not-so-subtle reminder of what’s been accomplished during a politically tumultuous year nationwide.
The list follows:
1. RTD completed the procurement for the Eagle P3 project, selecting Denver Transit Partners (DTP) as the concessionaire team and issued the initial Notice to Proceed to DTP.
2. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $120 million recommended in the president’s 2011 budget for the FasTracks program.
3. The FTA announced approval of $304 million in Transportation InfrastructureFinance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and ImprovementFinancing Program (RRIF) federal loans for Denver Union Station (DUS).
4. RTD signed agreements with the BNSF Railway Company and Union PacificRailroad for railroad property acquisition, relocation, construction and joint corridor operations needed for the FasTracks build-out.
5. The East Corridor project broke ground, the West Corridor project celebrated 50percent construction completion, and DUS celebrated construction progress.
6. RTD completed the U.S. 36 Phase One Transit Improvements, the first FasTracksproject to be completed.
7. The RTD Board approved the Environmental Evaluation reports on the Southeast,Southwest and Central Corridor Extensions.
8. Staff made substantial progress toward securing the $1.03 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the FTA for the Eagle P3 Project.
9. The Board adopted a new Strategic Plan for Transit Oriented Development (TOD)reflecting emphasis on Transit Oriented Communities and development of a newTOD Pilot Program.
10. The RTD FasTracks team developed a construction ready/finance ready plan and implemented the stakeholder input process to gather regional feedback on the short-term and long-term options for completing the FasTracks vision.
