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Another FasTracks line moving forward!

RTD board approves Kiewit plan for I-225 light-rail line
Denver Business Journal
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 7:12pm MDT - Last Modified: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 2:20pm MDT

The Regional Transportation District’s board Tuesday approved Kiewit Infrastructure Co.’s plan to build a light-rail line on Interstate 225 between Parker Road and Interstate 70, part of the massive FasTracks transit project.
The I-225 line is slated to be completed by November 2015 and to open in mid-2016 after six months of testing, RTD said.

The Denver-area transit agency’s board’s vote was 14-0 in favor, with a member absent.

““The completion of the I-225 line will offer economic growth and employment opportunities for the metro area,” RTD Board Chair Lee Kemp said in a statement. “We heard compelling input from the public to support this decision. Providing connectivity between major employment and medical centers and DIA, along with offering new transit options for tens of thousands of riders, will benefit people throughout the entire region.”

Kiewit in March submitted an unsolicited proposal to build the 10.5-mile line for $350 million via a fixed-price contract. Previously, RTD had estimated the I-225 line would cost about $538 million, including the agency’s internal costs.
Kiewit offered to build and finance the line, with RTD repaying the cost at a later date. Kiewit’s team included Mass Electric Construction Co., AECOM and RBC Capital Markets.

A second proposal emerged in June, with a bid submitted by Balfour Beatty Ames joint venture, a team that included Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; and Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Markets.

Teams of people, including representatives from Aurora and the Colorado Department of Transportation, reviewed the two proposals.
RTD’s staff issued a recommendation July 3 in favor of the Kiewit plan...

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