What should RTD fix first in the Civic Center bus station: The failing springs in the bus roadway or water leaks from the ceiling of the underground facility?
Last week, the Regional Transportation District won a $6.9 million grant for Civic Center bus-depot repairs from the Federal Transit Administration’s State of Good Repair program.
RTD had asked the feds for $14 million and pledged $3.5 million of its own money for a total project budget of $17.5 million.
With the FTA contributing about half of RTD’s original request, the transit agency now has to decide what elements of the project it will take on first, according to Steve Pilon, RTD’s senior manager of facilities.
Civic Center station opened in 1984, and the bus facility has periodically suffered from water leaks that seep into the passenger waiting room and bus-staging area from the pedestrian plaza above.
In its $17.5 million budget for the project, RTD listed about $4.2 million for renovation of the landscaped plaza and structural repairs in the 3 1/2-foot-deep “interstitial space” between the bus-station ceiling and the plaza.
“Over the years, water has filtered down from the surface, bringing with it salt used for winter snow remediation,” RTD said in its grant application to the FTA.
The leaks have deteriorated concrete, reinforcing steel and steel decking, RTD said. “The problem is so severe that not only is rust evident on the structural steel supports, but there are pools of standing salt water within the ‘rooms’ of the interstitial space.”
RTD also budgeted nearly $1.5 million to repair the bus roadway’s “floor isolation system,” which includes large springs under the roadbed that are designed to reduce “vibration transfer” from bus traffic to the walls of the adjacent structure, the agency said.
The springs are covered by a concrete slab and a waterproof coating, RTD said, but “a number of the springs are not functioning properly and have broken.”
In its proposed $17.5 million budget, RTD additionally had targeted about $3.7 million for mechanical and electrical repairs, and about $1.4 million for design.
With the reduced federal grant, RTD also expects to reduce its contribution to about $1.4 million — keeping its commitment to 20 percent of the federal grant. The agency typically limits its match to federal requirements to maximize the value of its own dollars.
“RTD is currently reviewing the projects that can be completed using the grant that was awarded to RTD for Civic Center Station,” Pilon said.
About 19,000 passengers get on and off buses at Civic Center station each weekday. Additionally, ridership on the adjacent 16th Street Mall free shuttle bus totals about 45,000 boardings each weekday, RTD said.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
