The Regional Transportation District began its summer-long light rail business loop reconstruction project on Sunday, which started with shutting down train operations in downtown Denver’s business district.
Starting Sunday, the D and H lines to downtown stations will detour to Union Station before entering downtown. The L line service, which enters the business district loop from the northeast, is to shut down completely until the first phase of construction is complete.
RTD’s reconstruction project is a four-phase, $152 million project to replace the 30-year-old light rail track of the downtown business district loop. The project’s first phase, which focuses on five downtown intersections, closes downtown business district train operations until at least mid-September.
That is barring any unforeseen delays, officials said.
The light rail track reconstruction is a first-of-its-kind type of project for the public transit authority, officials said.
“RTD is a newer transit agency and we now are on the precipice of change,” RTD CEO Debra Johnson said.
RTD officials said it is doing a full-depth reconstruction of the Downtown Loop, which first began service in 1994, with a goal of improving safety and mobility, replacing aging infrastructure, and extending the life of the light rail network.
The initial phase will focus on five segments of “at-grade rail” and intersections in the downtown loop.
The intersections being reconstructed in Phase One are:
- California and 17th streets
- Stout and 15th Streets
- Stout and 17th Streets
- California and 15th streets
- Broadway and Welton Street
RTD officials said they don’t plan to reconstruct the five intersections simultaneously, so traffic impacts would be staggered.
The next phases will focus on midblock reconstruction on Colfax Avenue and the Welton Street corridor.
This past week, Johnson expressed uncertainty workers face as they figure out what lies beneath some of the aging RTD light rail tracks needing replacement this summer.
“We don’t necessarily know what lies underneath,” she said.
Johnson cited the ongoing 16th Street Mall reconstruction project, which delayed because of what workers found underground. During the early stages of that project, workers unexpectedly found old pipes underneath the ground that ballooned the costs from $149 million to $172 million.
Those pipes were found only blocks away from the intersections targeted for RTD reconstruction this summer.
Yet, even if no unexpected issues show up, RTD’s downtown light rail reconstruction will already mean further road closures, traffic delays, and temporary impacts to the rail and bus lines at a time when the 16th Street Mall corridor is already struggling due to the massive infrastructure upgrade project underway there.
Officials underscored that reconstruction is a natural product of growth. Â
“If you’re going to grow, and you’re going to develop and you’re going to improve what you have, you do have to take the time to have some construction that makes it all possible,” RTD Board Member Doug Tisdale told The Denver Gazette.
“There are 30 buildings over 30 feet in height that are under construction in Denver. It’s a happening place. And we’re bringing that same kind of energy back now,” he said.
Insofar as the impact on businesses, Johnson said, “We’ve been able to engage with the businesses and with the city and county.”
Meanwhile, business groups said they’re in close communication with city officials about the downtown projects and relaying what they’ve learned to their members. Â
“VISIT DENVER is communicating the transit changes to groups meeting in Denver and to visitors via our website as well as to all downtown hotels,” a Visit Denver spokesperson told The Denver Gazette. “We are doing so in close communications with the Denver Office of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) and the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP).”
“We know DDP and the City have grants available for downtown businesses … impacted by the rail construction project,” the spokesperson said, adding, “While we understand there will be impacts to the light rail lines through downtown, visitors will still be able to take transit to Denver Union Station and have access to the MallRide and the reinstated MetroRide, both of which are free.”
RTD said it plans to pause after the first phase is complete and resume with the following three phases in 2025Â â and that work may happen simultaneously.
Since intersection reconstruction won’t happen simultaneously, Traffic in the area would be merged to one lane or rerouted around construction for limited periods during the summer, the officials said, adding that routes that travel up and down 15th and 17th streets could see temporary impacts during the improvement projects.
Transit officials said they plan to limit detours in the area as much as possible, and that RTD plans to temporarily reintroduce its Free MetroRide service up and down 18th and 19th streets.
“There can be an instance where (reconstruction) could be more expeditious or it could take a little while longer,” Johnson said. “What we’re going to do is communicate out very efficiently and effectively relative to any hiccups we may encounter along the way.”