Lakewood – Declaring FasTracks “starts out west,” officials armed with giant pry bars ripped spikes out of an old rail line Wednesday.
The ceremony marked the start of construction on the 12.1-mile west light-rail line – the first corridor in the $4.7 billion transit project.
Crews start today on a four-month job of removing Associated Railway trolley tracks along West 13th Avenue from Quail Street to Denver to allow utility work.
Even as work begins, officials continue trying to cut soaring costs on the $511.7 million west line.
Jefferson County officials are adamant that service on the west line – which will run from Denver to the Jefferson County government center when it opens in 2012 or early 2013 – should not be sacrificed.
RTD has identified $113 million in “value engineering” reductions.
Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky said, “Forty percent of their savings is at our expense at the end of the line.”
RTD has proposed several cost- saving measures between the Denver Federal Center and the Jefferson County government center, including cutting back to a single track, limiting the number of train cars and increasing time between trains to 15 minutes from five minutes.
Jefferson County Commissioner Kathy Hartman said RTD’s proposal bases ridership for the west line’s last segment “on a bad bus system that has never served the county building well.”
McCasky said Jefferson County Chief Judge Brooke Jackson notified him that judges are prepared to assist county officials in ensuring a good light-rail link to the county facility, since many people who appear in court depend on public transit.
RTD general manager Cal Marsella said he believes the issues can be resolved, saying the answer may be a binding intergovernmental agreement guaranteeing expansion of the west line’s last segment with available money at end of the 10-year FasTracks project.
A meeting is planned Wednesday among Jefferson County commissioners, Golden Mayor Chuck Baroch and Marsella.
“We are still part of the team,” said McCasky, who estimated Jefferson County residents contribute about $28 million in sales taxes annually to FasTracks. “We just want to be heard on alternative options.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
