by Public Information
comments open from November 17 until December 6
In another year, the vast majority of work on the West Rail Line will be completed. For now, stay up-to-date with the most current construction information by becoming a subscriber to our e-newsletter. You can sign up by visiting the West Rail website, and while there, utilize the tools that have been established to keep you updated on progress and impacts.
Auraria West Station Opens
After a three month closure, the light rail station at Auraria West is now open! On Monday, October 31, 2011, RTD opened the first light rail station on the West Rail Line. The opening of this station culminated a summer of construction activities at the Auraria campus that included integrating the existing Central Platte Valley tracks into the West Rail Line, demolishing the old Auraria West Station and constructing the new station north/west of its original location. Access to and from the station will include sidewalks leading to Auraria Campus, as well as a kiss-n-ride drop off on 5th Street.
Relocating this station was necessary to accommodate trains heading out to the West Rail Line or the Southeast and Southwest Rail Lines. This is the first station on the West Rail Line where you can see the final windscreens, as well as the station furniture, lighting and shelter canopies that will be consistent along the new line.
Bike Path
The West Rail Line boasts new bike/pedestrian paths along the corridor, connecting the three counties in which the rail line spans. The project has dedicated a total of 4.26 miles (.38 miles in Jefferson County, 2.20 in Lakewood, and 1.68 in Denver) of bike/pedestrian route, including new bike bridges adjacent to both the Wadsworth and Kipling light rail bridges. Although the bike/pedestrian path is one of the final phases of the overall project, as of September 2011, it is almost 50 percent complete!
Safety remains a priority, so public access to the bike/pedestrian path will not be allowed until all adjacent shouldering, landscaping, painting and fencing are complete and the path is safe for all users. Once completed, the new and improved path will make traveling to and from the west much more seamless and safe. Locations where bicycles/pedestrians cross the light rail tracks are minimized along the corridor to the greatest extent possible.
In addition, all West Rail Line stations will feature bicycle parking with racks and/or lockers for travelers’ convenience. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) and Denver Transit Construction Group (DTCG) are committed to opening the bike path by mid- 2012, at least one year earlier than originally scheduled. For safety purposes, the West Rail Line team asks the public to refrain from using the path until it is opened.
Construction Update – Area 1, Jeffco Government Center to Federal Center
• Work continues on the parking garage and station at the Jefferson County Government Center. Work on the structure should be completed by the first week of December and station and guideway work will continue through the winter months.
• Track crews are distributing ties from Johnson Road to the west end of the Jefferson County Government Center.
• All eastbound and westbound lanes, including the ramps at Indiana Street are scheduled to open by Thanksgiving.
• Installation of guardrail on the frontage road west of Red Rocks Station will be ongoing through mid-December.
• Roadway improvements continue to require lane closures on Union Boulevard and the 6th Avenue on and off ramps at Union Boulevard. Construction on the southbound lanes of Union Boulevard will continue through November.
• The excavation of the light rail tunnel under Union Boulevard has been completed. Crews continue preparing the tunnel walls.
• North/4th Avenue between Union Boulevard and just west of Routt Street is closed as crews finish up roadwork and the track crossing in that area. To access the Federal Center, turn east from Union Boulevard onto 2nd Place and proceed through Gate 4 into the Federal Center.
Information contained in this post adapted from the FasTracks newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter or get the latest information, see the FasTracks West Corridor website.
Posted by: Julie | Category: Roads & Transportation