RTD Light Rail Train. Undated Photo
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DENVER -
It's taken four years for any major construction to start, but now the FasTracks program has received the green-light to move forward with building the West Corridor Light Rail.
The 12-mile project will stretch from Union Station in downtown all the way out to the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden.
"It's nice to have construction mobilize, because it's a visible sign of our tax dollars at work," said Pauletta Tonilas, spokesperson for Fastracks.
The $707 million project is the first out of six Light Rail projects that are expected to be completed by 2017.
"FasTracks is really like the metro area's little economic stimulus package, it's going to put people to work on the West Corridor alone, there will be more than 600 construction related jobs and then of course a lot of in direct economic benefits from there on out," said Tonilas.
But homeowners who will be living near the rail-line have mixed opinions about what the this latest expansion will do to their quality of life. "I am concerned about the noise," said one resident.
Several neighborhood streets will also be permanently shut down for the project. One resident says he doesn't feel RTD has listened to his concerns.
"There's not very many benefits to having a light rail right next to your house, not that I can see right now," said the man.
He's afraid the house he has been living in for the past 27 years will only take a hard hit. "Property value is number one, everybody says that they're going to increase but I think that if you don't live right next to the rail like we do that could very well be," he explains.
The project received voter approval back in 2004 and FasTracks says it's taken this long to finally start building because of environmental and design studies that needed to be done. They expect the project to be complete by 2013.
FasTracks is RTD's voter-approved 12-year program to expand rail and bus service throughout the RTD service area. Scheduled for completion in 2017, FasTracks will build 122 miles of rail transit including six new commuter rail and light rail lines and extensions of three existing lines; build 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, add 21,000 new parking spaces, redevelop Denver Union Station and redirect bus service to better connect the eight-county District.
FasTracks is projected to create more than 10,000 jobs during the height of construction, and will pump billions of dollars into the regional economy.
The corridor is scheduled to open to the public in 2013, one year ahead of schedule.
The 12-mile project will stretch from Union Station in downtown all the way out to the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden.
"It's nice to have construction mobilize, because it's a visible sign of our tax dollars at work," said Pauletta Tonilas, spokesperson for Fastracks.
The $707 million project is the first out of six Light Rail projects that are expected to be completed by 2017.
"FasTracks is really like the metro area's little economic stimulus package, it's going to put people to work on the West Corridor alone, there will be more than 600 construction related jobs and then of course a lot of in direct economic benefits from there on out," said Tonilas.
But homeowners who will be living near the rail-line have mixed opinions about what the this latest expansion will do to their quality of life. "I am concerned about the noise," said one resident.
Several neighborhood streets will also be permanently shut down for the project. One resident says he doesn't feel RTD has listened to his concerns.
"There's not very many benefits to having a light rail right next to your house, not that I can see right now," said the man.
He's afraid the house he has been living in for the past 27 years will only take a hard hit. "Property value is number one, everybody says that they're going to increase but I think that if you don't live right next to the rail like we do that could very well be," he explains.
The project received voter approval back in 2004 and FasTracks says it's taken this long to finally start building because of environmental and design studies that needed to be done. They expect the project to be complete by 2013.
FasTracks is RTD's voter-approved 12-year program to expand rail and bus service throughout the RTD service area. Scheduled for completion in 2017, FasTracks will build 122 miles of rail transit including six new commuter rail and light rail lines and extensions of three existing lines; build 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, add 21,000 new parking spaces, redevelop Denver Union Station and redirect bus service to better connect the eight-county District.
FasTracks is projected to create more than 10,000 jobs during the height of construction, and will pump billions of dollars into the regional economy.
The corridor is scheduled to open to the public in 2013, one year ahead of schedule.
