AURORA | Regional Transportation District officials say they’ll announce tomorrow evening who they recommend to build the delayed Interstate 225 FasTracks light-rail line from Iliff Avenue north to a line under construction Near I-70 and Peoria Street.
Officials said RTD staffers will detail two proposals to design, build and help finance the commuter line and then explain to RTD board directors why they’re favoring one proposal over another.
The public is expected to have an opportunity to weigh in on the two bids at a July 10 meeting, and a final recommendation is expected at the July 17 RTD board meeting.
Competing bids were submitted by Balfour Beatty Ames Joint Venture, which includes Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Markets; and Kiewit Infrastructure Co., which includes Mass. Electric Construction Co., AECOM, and RBC Capital Markets. The unexpected turn of events began after an unsolicited design-build pact was submitted by Kiewit earlier this year. That prompted RTD to issue a request for proposals.
RTD officials have said the cost of the entire, 10.5 mile-long I-225 light rail line, including the cost of planning and design, is about $750 million. Although they won’t comment on their estimates for the remainder of the project, they said they’ve already spent $186 million on projects including the extension to East Iliff Avenue.
Metro area voters approved a $4.7 billion plan to fund FasTracks’ completion in 2004 under the notion that it would be complete by 2017. At this point, it would be several years beyond that before Aurora would see the completion of the I-225 line. The economic downturn and inaccurate revenue projections have led RTD officials over the past couple of years to consider asking for another sales tax increase of 0.4 percent. Board members have declined to go to voters.
It won’t be known until this meeting how the design-build contracts would affect the speed the I-225 line would be built and opened.
Upcoming meetings:
5:30 p.m. July 3 – FasTracks Monitoring Committee Meeting; staff recommendation for I-225 Rail project
5:30 p.m. July 10 – Special FasTracks Monitoring Committee Meeting; public input on I-225 Rail project recommendation
5:30 p.m. July 17 – RTD Board Meeting; Board takes formal action on recommendation for I-225 Rail project
All meetings will be held at RTD headquarters, 1600 Blake St.in Denver.
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