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The Future of FasTracks | part one of three – 1 2 3

Budget woes plague corridor plans
Land acquisition costs, rising material prices could force changes
By Geof Wollerman
gwollerm@mscd.edu

Photo by Johanna Snow • snowj@mscd.edu Old railroad tracks still go through the heart of Golden and have been there for hundreds of years. New changes are coming to the city with the installation of the west corridor light rail, making it easier for commuters to travel – but rising costs of construction may hinder the project’s completion.

Increasing cost of land and materials has RTD re-evaluating proposed FasTracks projects, leaving some wondering if promised light-rail lines will ever be built and who will cover the cost.

“RTD takes a look at all different elements and sees if things can be modified or deleted,” RTD spokesman Scott Reed said of a process called value engineering in which developers reanalyze a plan for cost efficiencies.

He said one option RTD had considered was eliminating the JeffCo Government Center station from the west corridor plan. But after determining that this would not work for passengers along the route, planners decided to keep the station.

RTD is stepping back and making sure that it is including the basics specified in its budget, said Kristi Estes, FasTracks’ spokeswoman for the north metro corridor.

“It’s more of an evaluation than anything. It’s not that they’re running out of money,” Estes said. “We’ll be doing that throughout the entire program, every year looking at everything and making sure we know where we can cut costs.”

One of the biggest factors RTD is dealing with is the increasing cost of acquiring right of way, the land each corridor runs along.

“The acquisition of right of way is preliminary to everything (planners) do, and that represents a big expense,” said Tom Clark, a UCD planning professor.

As land prices rise, “ the money available is less and less able to do all that was originally promised,” Clark said.

With these economic developments, RTD has to “back up and ask where the greatest good for the greatest number can be achieved with the monies available,” he said.

This is what has state Sen. Bob Hagedorn, District 29, concerned. Most of his constituents live along the undeveloped Interstate-225 corridor of FasTracks, and he said he wonders whether adequate funding will be available by the time the corridor is slated for development. His constituents voted for mass transit and they expect it, he said.

“I campaigned for FasTracks based upon that. I know a lot of people that voted for it with the idea that yeah, it’s going be 10 years down the road, but eventually we will have it,” Hagedorn said.

With a planned completion date of 2015, the I-225 corridor is one of the last FasTracks projects and Hagedorn said he is nervous that a lack of funding may endanger the project. “I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck in town this morning. I can put two and two together, and it smells like we may have a little money issue about building out the light rail along the 225 corridor,” Hagedorn said.

An August 2006 FasTracks committee summary report echoed Hagedorn’s comments and concerns about the cost of construction. The prices of basic materials have skyrocketed since FasTracks began, ranging from a 42 percent increase in rebar to a 220 percent increase in diesel fuel. In order to contain costs, RTD is looking at shortening bridge structures, purchasing vehicles in advance and pushing ahead construction schedules in order to issue bonds at a lower interest rate to avoid future price escalation, the summary said.

Some of these costs may be passed off to commuters as well.

“We have to eventually readdress the issue, I’m afraid, of the free parking at park-n-Rides,”

Hagedorn said. Because of budget concerns RTD might have to charge a minimal fee at the park-n-Ride lots in order to secure needed revenue.

“Is this going back on their word? Well, it depends on how much they charge,” Hagedorn said.
He has no reason to doubt that RTD is pursuing the budget situation in a fiscally responsible manner, Hagedorn said. But he does want to make sure that RTD delivers on the FasTracks project as promised.

“Anything that hasn’t been done yet – there’s questions,” Hagedorn said.