1.
Light rail
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Light rail, light rail transit or fast tram is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. A few light rail networks tend to have closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail. Other light rail networks are tram-like in nature and partially operate on streets, Light rail systems are found throughout the world, on all inhabited continents. They have been popular in recent years due to their lower capital costs. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U. S, Urban Mass Transportation Administration to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany the term Stadtbahn was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, however, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of intended for light loads and fast movement, the infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The Transportation Research Board defined light rail in 1977 as a mode of urban transportation utilizing predominantly reserved, electrically propelled rail vehicles operate singly or in trains. LRT provides a range of passenger capabilities and performance characteristics at moderate costs. Light rail is a generic international English phrase for these types of rail systems, the use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English. The word trolley is used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States. A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams except Blackpool after World War II, when these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both the old and new systems. Conventional rail technologies including high-speed, freight, commuter/regional, and metro/subway/elevated urban transit systems are considered heavy rail, people movers and personal rapid transit are even lighter, at least in terms of capacity. Monorail is a technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. Due to varying definitions, it is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail, a system described as light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called light rail are in very similar to rapid transit, in recent years. Some light rail systems, such as Sprinter, bear little similarity to urban rail, in the United States, light rail has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. There is a significant difference in cost between these different classes of light rail transit, tram-like systems are often less expensive than metro-like systems by a factor of two or more
2.
Regional Transportation District
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It operates over a 2, 340-square-mile area, serving 2.87 million people. RTD is governed by a 15-member, publicly elected Board of Directors, Directors are elected to a four-year term and represent a specific district of about 180,000 constituents. RTD currently operates a bus and rail system that has an area of 2,337 square miles. It employed 2,734 people and reported 103 million boardings in 2016 and it had a $466.7 million operating budget for the year of 2015. Google has RTD schedules attached to its trip planner, and 3rd party mobile applications are now available for the iPhone,1969, RTD was created in the 47th session of the Colorado General Assembly to provide public transportation to five additional counties in the metropolitan area. 1969–1971, The Denver Tramway Company continues service under sponsorship of the City and County of Denver, October 1970, RTD found it needed to establish a Northern Operations Group to provide service to Boulder and Longmont. RTD also acquired the privately owned Denver-Boulder Bus Company, which ran airport buses,1971, Denver Metro Transit took over the privately owned Denver Tramway Company. Denver Metro Transit was an entity created by the City and County of Denver, suburban service only continued for those suburbs willing to contribute a subsidy. 1972, RTD created a plan for a rapid transit system in the area. This plan included 98 miles of PRT and extensive bus service throughout the areas served by RTD, later that year, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration selected RTD to develop PRT as a demonstration project. The PRT project was eventually scrapped, the tax became effective January 1,1974. July 1974, Denver Metro Transit became part of RTD, 1975–1977, RTD consolidated, expanded, and improved service frequency. Service was expanded to routes that commercial carriers previously operated, february 1978, Inflation caused RTD to implement a new fare structure. For instances, the new Colorado Blvd route was number 40,1979, Federal approval was granted for the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, originally known as Transitway. The project allowed express bus productivity to double and was intersected by RTDs first light rail line. 1980, RTD reached a number of weekday passengers. It also acquired 216 new buses,89 of which were articulated, construction began on the 16th Street Mall. Work was also completed to make RTDs service more accessible to elderly,1983, On May 1,1983, the tax was increased to 0. 6%
3.
Denver metropolitan area
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Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U. S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas. The Denver region is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor, the continuously urbanized area extends northwest into the City and County of Broomfield, bordering Jefferson and Adams counties, and south into Douglas County, adjoining Arapahoe County. Also included in the federally defined MSA are four counties, Elbert County on the southeastern prairie and Clear Creek, Gilpin. The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area comprises ten counties, in 2005 the RTD developed a twelve-year comprehensive plan, called FasTracks, to build and operate rail transit lines and expand and improve bus service throughout the region. Electricity is provided by Xcel Energy, cable television is provided by Comcast. Severity of pollution in this area has varied enormously over the years, in the late 1980s the area was frequently in violation of multiple National Ambient Air Quality Standards established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Regional Air Quality Council was formed in 1989 to create plans to address the problem, through a variety of measures the areas air quality was improved and in 2002 the EPA designated the area in compliance with all federal health-based air quality standards. Denver was the first major city in the United States to reach compliance with all six of these standards after previously violating five of them, since then the EPA introduced a new standard for small particulates and made the existing ozone standard stricter. In 2003 the new standard was frequently exceeded in the area and was occasionally exceeded as far away as Rocky Mountain National Park. The RAQC hopes to implement plans enabling the area to comply with the new standards by 2007. S
4.
Peoria station
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Peoria, also known as Peoria/Smith, is a Regional Transportation District station in Aurora, Colorado. A Line travel times from the station to Downtown Denver and Denver International Airport are about 17 and 20 minutes, Peoria station is the northern terminus of the R Line with a travel time of 58 minutes to the southern terminus at Lincoln station. Peoria and Union Station are the two locations where RTD commuter rail and light meet, and Peoria is the only station facilitating a cross-platform transfer between the two systems. Peoria station is served by several TheRide bus routes and has a 550-space park-and-ride lot. The A Line began service at Peoria station on April 22,2016, the R Line began service on February 24,2017
5.
Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
6.
Railway electrification system
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A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electrification has many advantages but requires significant capital expenditure, selection of an electrification system is based on economics of energy supply, maintenance, and capital cost compared to the revenue obtained for freight and passenger traffic. Different systems are used for urban and intercity areas, some electric locomotives can switch to different supply voltages to allow flexibility in operation, Electric railways use electric locomotives to haul passengers or freight in separate cars or electric multiple units, passenger cars with their own motors. Electricity is typically generated in large and relatively efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network, some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway usually provides its own lines, switches and transformers. Power is supplied to moving trains with a continuous conductor running along the track usually takes one of two forms. The first is a line or catenary wire suspended from poles or towers along the track or from structure or tunnel ceilings. Locomotives or multiple units pick up power from the wire with pantographs on their roofs that press a conductive strip against it with a spring or air pressure. Examples are described later in this article, the second is a third rail mounted at track level and contacted by a sliding pickup shoe. Both overhead wire and third-rail systems usually use the rails as the return conductor. In comparison to the alternative, the diesel engine, electric railways offer substantially better energy efficiency, lower emissions. Electric locomotives are usually quieter, more powerful, and more responsive and they have no local emissions, an important advantage in tunnels and urban areas. Different regions may use different supply voltages and frequencies, complicating through service, the limited clearances available under catenaries may preclude efficient double-stack container service. Possible lethal electric current due to risk of contact with high-voltage contact wires, overhead wires are safer than third rails, but they are often considered unsightly. These are independent of the system used, so that. The permissible range of voltages allowed for the voltages is as stated in standards BS EN50163. These take into account the number of trains drawing current and their distance from the substation, railways must operate at variable speeds. Until the mid 1980s this was only practical with the brush-type DC motor, since such conversion was not well developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century, most early electrified railways used DC and many still do, particularly rapid transit and trams
7.
Overhead line
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An overhead line or overhead wire is used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses, or trains. Overhead line is designed on the principle of one or more overhead wires situated over rail tracks, the feeder stations are usually fed from a high-voltage electrical grid. Electric trains that collect their current from overhead lines use a device such as a pantograph and it presses against the underside of the lowest overhead wire, the contact wire. Current collectors are electrically conductive and allow current to flow through to the train or tram, non-electric locomotives may pass along these tracks without affecting the overhead line, although there may be difficulties with overhead clearance. Alternative electrical power transmission schemes for trains include third rail, ground-level power supply, batteries and this article does not cover regenerative braking, where the traction motors act as generators to retard movement and return power to the overhead. To achieve good high-speed current collection, it is necessary to keep the wire geometry within defined limits. This is usually achieved by supporting the wire from a second wire known as the messenger wire or catenary. This wire approximates the path of a wire strung between two points, a catenary curve, thus the use of catenary to describe this wire or sometimes the whole system. This wire is attached to the wire at regular intervals by vertical wires known as droppers or drop wires. It is supported regularly at structures, by a pulley, link, the whole system is then subjected to a mechanical tension. As the contact wire makes contact with the pantograph, the insert on top of the pantograph is worn down. The straight wire between supports will cause the wire to cross over the whole surface of the pantograph as the train travels around the curve, causing uniform wear. On straight track, the wire is zigzagged slightly to the left. The movement of the wire across the head of the pantograph is called the sweep. The zigzagging of the line is not required for trolley poles. Depot areas tend to have only a wire and are known as simple equipment or trolley wire. When overhead line systems were first conceived, good current collection was only at low speeds. Compound equipment - uses a second wire, known as the auxiliary
8.
Volt
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The volt is the derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. One volt is defined as the difference in potential between two points of a conducting wire when an electric current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power between those points. It is also equal to the difference between two parallel, infinite planes spaced 1 meter apart that create an electric field of 1 newton per coulomb. Additionally, it is the difference between two points that will impart one joule of energy per coulomb of charge that passes through it. It can also be expressed as amperes times ohms, watts per ampere, or joules per coulomb, for the Josephson constant, KJ = 2e/h, the conventional value KJ-90 is used, K J-90 =0.4835979 GHz μ V. This standard is typically realized using an array of several thousand or tens of thousands of junctions. Empirically, several experiments have shown that the method is independent of device design, material, measurement setup, etc. in the water-flow analogy sometimes used to explain electric circuits by comparing them with water-filled pipes, voltage is likened to difference in water pressure. Current is proportional to the diameter of the pipe or the amount of water flowing at that pressure. A resistor would be a reduced diameter somewhere in the piping, the relationship between voltage and current is defined by Ohms Law. Ohms Law is analogous to the Hagen–Poiseuille equation, as both are linear models relating flux and potential in their respective systems, the voltage produced by each electrochemical cell in a battery is determined by the chemistry of that cell. Cells can be combined in series for multiples of that voltage, mechanical generators can usually be constructed to any voltage in a range of feasibility. High-voltage electric power lines,110 kV and up Lightning, Varies greatly. Volta had determined that the most effective pair of metals to produce electricity was zinc. In 1861, Latimer Clark and Sir Charles Bright coined the name volt for the unit of resistance, by 1873, the British Association for the Advancement of Science had defined the volt, ohm, and farad. In 1881, the International Electrical Congress, now the International Electrotechnical Commission and they made the volt equal to 108 cgs units of voltage, the cgs system at the time being the customary system of units in science. At that time, the volt was defined as the difference across a conductor when a current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power. The international volt was defined in 1893 as 1/1.434 of the emf of a Clark cell and this definition was abandoned in 1908 in favor of a definition based on the international ohm and international ampere until the entire set of reproducible units was abandoned in 1948. Prior to the development of the Josephson junction voltage standard, the volt was maintained in laboratories using specially constructed batteries called standard cells
9.
Direct current
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Direct current is a flow of electrical charge carriers that always takes place in the same direction. The current need not always have the magnitude, but if it is to be defined as dc. This contrasts with alternating current which varies the direction of flow, sources of direct current include power supplies, electrochemical cells and batteries, and photovoltaic cells and panels. The intensity, or amplitude, of a direct current might fluctuate with time, in some such cases the dc has an ac component superimposed on it. An example of this is the output of a cell that receives a modulated light communications signal. A source of dc is sometimes called a dc generator, batteries and various other sources of dc produce a constant voltage. This is called pure dc and can be represented by a straight, the peak and effective values are the same. The peak to peak value is zero because the instantaneous amplitude never changes, in some instances the value of a dc voltage pulsates or oscillates rapidly with time, in a manner similar to the changes in an ac wave. The unfiltered output of a wave or a full wave rectifier. In 1820, Hans Christian Orsted discovered that electrical current creates a magnetic field and this discovery made scientists relate magnetism to the electric phenomena. In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. He improved a 50-year-old idea using lower current electricity, a vacuum inside the globe and a small carbonized filament. At that time, the idea of lightning was not new. Edison not only invented an incandescent electric light, but an electric lighting system contained all the necessary elements to make the incandescent light safe, economical. Prior to 1879, direct current electricity had been used in lighting for the outdoors and it was in the 1880s when the modern electric utility industry began. It was an evolution from street lighting systems and from gas and it was located in Lower Manhattan, on Pearl Street. This station provided light and electricity to customers in a one square mile range, the station was called Thomas Edisons Pearl Street Electricity Generating Station. This station introduced four elements of an electric utility system, Efficient distribution, competitive price, reliable central generation
10.
A Line (RTD)
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Mass transit has been under consideration for the corridor between Downtown Denver and Denver International Airport since the latter was proposed in the 1980s. The project gathered momentum in 1997 when a Major Investment Study was completed for the corridor, encouraging fixed-guideway mass transit, highway widening, in July 2007, it was decided to use electric instead of diesel propulsion over speed and air pollution concerns. RTD designated the line with the letter “A”, denoting service to the airport, the first electric multiple unit railcars were pulled along the route on April 3,2015, commencing testing and commissioning of the line. Revenue service began on April 22,2016, the A Line route follows and remains within a mile of Interstate 25, Interstate 70, and the airport access highway. Leaving Union Station the line follows the Union Pacific corridor past Coors Field to reach a station at 38th, from there the line turns east alongside 40th Avenue past the Denver Union Pacific Intermodal Yard. Just east of Josephine Street the corridor turns two blocks north then east again to stay along the Union Pacific corridor to reach the 40th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard station. After passing under Colorado Boulevard the line parallels Smith Road, with a station at Central Park Boulevard in the redevelopment area of the decommissioned Stapleton International Airport. Shortly after entering Aurora, the line reaches a station at Peoria Street, continuing east, alongside Smith Road, the line passes under Peoria Street and then Interstate 225. Just west of Airport Boulevard, the line rises on a viaduct curving north over the Union Pacific tracks, Airport Boulevard, 32nd Avenue, and Interstate 70. Having left the Union Pacific corridor, the viaduct then descends to a station at the existing Park and Ride at 40th Avenue, from there the line reenters Denver, following the east side of Peña Boulevard. North of 56th Avenue it enters a recently added Peña Boulevard station at 61st Avenue, the line continues north and east, parallel to Peña Boulevard and crossing over E-470. Turning north, the crosses over Peña Boulevard adjacent to DIA runway 7/25
11.
Denver International Airport
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Denver International Airport, often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado, United States. At 33,531 acres, it is the largest airport in the United States by total land area, runway 16R/34L, with a length of 16,000 feet, is the longest public use runway in the United States. As of 2015, DEN was the 18th-busiest airport in the world and it also has the third largest domestic connection network in the country. The airport features 133 gates spread out over three detached, yet connected, linear concourses. DEN has non-stop service to destinations throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, the airport is in northeastern Denver and is operated by the City & County of Denver Department of Aviation. DEN was voted Best Airport in North America by readers of Business Traveler Magazine six years in a row and was named Americas Best Run Airport by Time Magazine in 2002, the airport is the main hub for Frontier Airlines and Great Lakes Airlines. It is also the fourth-largest hub for United Airlines with 375 daily departures to 141 destinations, the airport is Southwest Airlines 4th most utilized airport and fastest-growing market, with 190 daily departures to nearly 60 destinations. DEN is the airport in the United States to have implemented an ISO 14001-certified environmental management system covering the entire airport. The airport is accessible via Peña Boulevard as well as the A Line commuter rail from Denver Union Station, the catenary steel cable system, similar to the Brooklyn Bridge design, supports the fabric roof. Both during construction and after its opening, DIA has set aside a portion of its construction and operation budgets for art, grotesques hiding in suitcases are present above the exit doors from the baggage claims. The corridor from the terminal and Concourse A usually contains additional temporary exhibits. Finally a number of different public art works are present in the train that links the main terminal with the concourses. Blue Mustang, by El Paso born artist Luis Jiménez, was one of the earliest public art commissions for Denver International Airport in 1993. The 32 feet tall Blue Mustang is a bright blue cast-fiberglass sculpture with glowing red eyes located between the inbound and outbound lanes of Peña Boulevard, Jiménez died in 2006 while creating the sculpture when part of it fell on him and severed an artery in his leg. At the time of his death, Jiménez had completed painting the head of the mustang, Blue Mustang was completed by others, and unveiled at the airport on February 11,2008. The statue has been the subject of considerable controversy, other DIA Art Commissions have been awarded to artists Leo Tanguma, Gary Sweeney, and Gary Yazzie. DIAs Art Collection was recently honored by the publishers of USA TODAY, the airport also features a bronze statue of astronaut, Congressman-elect and Denver native Jack Swigert. Swigert, who flew on Apollo 13 as Command Module Pilot, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, the statue is dressed in an A7L pressure suit, and is posed holding a gold-plated helmet
12.
Interstate 225
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Interstate 225 is a connector spur route of Interstate 25 in Colorado. It is the auxiliary route of Interstate 25, and one of two auxiliary Interstate highways in the state of Colorado. I-225 traverses Aurora and small portions of Denver and Greenwood Village and it runs north from Interstate 25 to Interstate 70. It intersects with Interstate 70 Business/U. S, Highway 287, known locally as Colfax Avenue. Construction on the began in 1964 and continued progressively through many years until final completion in 1976. The southern end of I-225 begins at an interchange with Interstate 25, with Cherry Creek State Park and Cherry Creek Reservoir on its east side, the highway interchanges with State Highway 83 at the northern boundary of the park. After crossing Sand Creek, the interchanges with Colfax Avenue. After the exit, I-225 enters Adams County, continuing through the city of Aurora, the route then crosses a railroad and continues north, where it interchanges with Interstate 70. Construction on I-225 began in May 1964 at Interstate 70, a section from Colfax Avenue to Sixth Avenue was opened in 1966. Five years later, a segment between Mississippi Avenue and Parker Road was opened, and construction began on another segment south of Parker Road, the rest of the route between Yosemite Street and Interstate 25 was completed in May 1976. Since completion of construction, the road has retained its designation from I-25 to I-70
13.
H Line (RTD)
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It is one of four routes that are part of the RTDs service plan for the corridor. The line was extended to reach Florida station on February 24,2017 along with the opening of the R line, according to a map in the RTDs service plan for the corridor, the H Lines color is blue. The H Lines northern terminus is at 18th and California in downtown Denver, the 2004 voter-approved FasTracks initiative extended the H Line approximately 3.5 mi to the north along Interstate 225 with stops at Iliff Avenue and Florida Avenue. Work began in 2012, and the two station extension was combined with I-225 corridor light-rail line in 2013, construction was long expected to be completed in 2016, however opening was delayed until February 24,2017
14.
Interstate 25 in Colorado
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In the U. S. state of Colorado, Interstate 25 follows the north–south corridor through Colorado Springs and Denver. The highway enters the state from the north near Carr and exits the state near Starkville, the highway also runs through the cities of Fort Collins, Loveland, and Pueblo. The route is concurrent with U. S. Highway 87 through the length of the state. I-25 replaced U. S. Highway 87 and most of U. S. Highway 85 for through traffic, historical nicknames for this route have included the Valley Highway, Monument Valley Highway, and the Pueblo Freeway. Within El Paso County, the route has been dedicated as the Ronald Reagan Highway, in Pueblo County, the route is called John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. Interstate 25 is also considered to be part of the unofficial Pan-American Highway, the route turns from north to west-northwest as I-25 serves Wootton. After leaving Wootton, I-25 turns back up north and bypasses near the east side of the Trinidad Lake State Park, Trinidad, a city near the Trinidad Lake, is the first major city that lies along I-25. For the next 30 miles, I-25 continues north through the areas of Colorado until it reaches the small city of Walsenburg. I-25 then continues in a north-northwest direction until it bypasses the Orlando Reservoir, in Colorado City, I-25 interchanges with the east end of the Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway at exit 74. The Arkansas River in Pueblo serves as a feeder to the Lake Pueblo State Park, home of the Pueblo Lake, which is located to the west of the western city limits of Pueblo. After leaving Pueblo, I-25 continues up north with the Union Pacific Railroad line paralleling closely to the route on the side after interchanging with Porter Draw at exit 106. By exit 119, the Fountain Creek joins along and travels parallel with I-25, I-25 gradually turns from a general north direction to the north-northwest and serves the census-designated place of Buttes at exit 122. As soon as US85 leaves I-25 at exit 128, I-25 enters the city limits of Fountain, basically, I-25 serves as the border between the western city limits of Fountain on the east side of I-25 and Fort Carson on the west side. Exit 132 serves the north side of the Fountain Creek Regional Park as well as the entrance to Fort Carson and connects to SH21, the eastern bypass for the Colorado Springs metro area. By the time I-25 reaches exit 138, the route crosses into the city limits of Colorado Springs, I-25 turns west at exit 140, along with the Fountain Creek, where it interchanges with US85, US87, and I-25 Bus. I-25 again turns north by exit 141. Swinging around the west side of downtown Colorado Springs at exit 142, and to the north of the city lies the Colorado College, continuing north and northeast, the highway intersects the north terminus of I-25 Bus. and US85. The interstate leaves Colorado Springs between exits 153 and 156, where I-25 enters the United States Air Force Academy, going through the east side of the institution
15.
E Line (RTD)
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The E Line, sometimes known as the Purple Line, is part of the light rail system operated by the Regional Transportation District in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area in Colorado. The line was added to the system on November 17,2006 and it is one of four routes that are part of the RTDs service plan for the corridor. Although it operates seven days per week, the E line does not operate during midday hours on weekdays as of January 11,2009. According to a map in the RTDs current service plan for the corridor, the E Lines northern terminus is at Union Station in downtown Denver. It shares track with the C Line from Union Station to I-25 & Broadway, then diverges by a junction onto a flyover. The 2004 voter-approved FasTracks initiative will add 2.3 mi to the Southeast Corridor and it will also add three stations at Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center and RidgeGate Parkway, with a 2,000 space parking lot at RidgeGate. Regional Transportation District has sent four teams a Request for Proposal on the Southeast Corridor extension expected due in May 2015, the Southeast Rail Line Extension plan is to extend light rail transit service to the new RidgeGate Parkway Interchange. Additional stations at Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center, and new R Line terminus station at RidgeGate will have an expected opening in 2019
16.
F Line (RTD)
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It is one of four routes that are part of the RTDs service plan for the corridor. It operates Monday through Friday and does not run on weekends, according to a map in the RTDs service plan for the corridor, the F Lines color is red. The F Lines northern terminus is at 18th Street in downtown Denver and it shares track with the D Line from 18th Street to I-25 & Broadway, then runs along the Southeast Corridor to Lincoln Avenue in Lone Tree. The 2004 voter-approved FasTracks initiative will add 2.3 mi to the Southeast Corridor and it will also add three stations at Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center and RidgeGate Parkway, with a 2,000 space parking lot at RidgeGate. Regional Transportation District has sent four teams a Request for Proposal on the Southeast Corridor extension expected due in May 2015, the Southeast Rail Line Extension plan is to extend light rail transit service to the new RidgeGate Parkway Interchange. Additional stations at Sky Ridge Medical Center, Lone Tree City Center, and new R Line terminus station at RidgeGate will have an expected opening in 2019
17.
Belleview station
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Belleview station is an island platformed RTD light rail station in Denver, Colorado, United States. Operating as part of the E, F and R lines, the station was opened on November 17,2006 and this is the primary station serving the Denver Technological Center. The station features an art installation of a geometric pattern of roadway reflectors entitled Thunder over the Rockies through its pedestrian tunnel. It was created by Richard Elliott and dedicated in 2006
18.
Arapahoe at Village Center station
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Arapahoe at Village Center station is an island platformed RTD light rail station in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States. Operating as part of the E, F and R lines, the station was opened on November 17,2006, in addition to numerous office buildings and corporate campuses, the station is the destination for people attending concerts at the Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre. The station also serves as the terminus for the skyRIDE AT bus route, with service to Denver International Airport, the station features a public art installation of a trio of sculptures entitled Nucleus. It was created by Michael Clapper and dedicated in 2010
19.
E-470
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E-470 is a 47-mile-long controlled-access toll road traversing the eastern portion of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area in the US state of Colorado. Construction and operation involves no state or federal funding or taxes, as of 12/31/15, 87% of its revenues were derived from tolls according to the 2015 E-470 Annual Report. E-470 provides an alternate route to Interstate 25 for travelers wishing to bypass the eastern side of Metropolitan Denver area. The tollway begins at the I-25 / SH470 interchange in Lone Tree and runs east and north through Aurora, E-470 is the eastern portion of what was originally conceived as I-470, an outer beltway for metropolitan Denver. In addition to all of these jurisdictions, E-470 also passes through the City and County of Denver near Denver International Airport. Affiliate, non-voting members of the Authority, which the highway does not directly serve, are the cities of Arvada, Lone Tree and Greeley, and Weld County and the City and County of Broomfield. Ex-officio members are the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the Regional Air Quality Council, the authority is headquartered in Aurora. The toll rate on E-470 for vehicles that do not have ExpressToll automated toll transponders, regarding License Plate Toll, cameras at each station photograph the front and rear license plate of each vehicle. A bill is mailed after approximately 30 days to the owner of the vehicle in accordance with state law. The License Plate Toll statement must be paid in full by the due date or a statement with a one-time $5 late fee will be mailed. If payment is not received, a third statement is sent with no additional fees. The unpaid tolls, the $5 late fee, and a one-time $20 collection fee are due at this time. If payment is not received, a Civil Penalty Assessment Notice will be mailed for the unpaid tolls, the $5 late fee, the $20 collection fee. Upon receipt of this document, the customer may request a hearing, rental car companies at Denver International Airport have been accused of over-charging unwitting visitors for unpaid tolls because of the roads cashless collection system. Plans for this extension of State Highway 470 gained momentum in the 1980s. The highway would be financed through tolls, a rarity in the western U. S. The first section, between I-25 in the south and Parker Road in Douglas County, opened to traffic June 1,1991, tolling began on July 15, making E-470 the first highway in the United States to implement open road electronic tolling. The highway was opened segment by segment until the final stretch connecting to I-25 in the north in Adams County opened on January 3,2003, in its early years, traffic was light as the completed portion was short and traversed a largely undeveloped area
20.
Aurora, Colorado
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Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality in the U. S. state of Colorado, spanning Arapahoe and Adams counties, with the extreme southeastern portion of the city extending into Douglas County. Aurora is one of the cities of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The citys population was 325,078 in the 2010 census, which made it the third most populous city in the state of Colorado, the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 2,645,209 on July 1,2012. However, Denver and Aurora combined make up less than half of the Denver Metro Areas population, the estimated population of Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area was 3,214,218 on July 1,2012. Aurora originated in the 1880s as the town of Fletcher, taking its name from Denver businessman Donald Fletcher who saw it as a real estate opportunity. He and his partners staked out four miles east of Denver. At that point Fletcher skipped town, leaving the community with a huge water debt, Aurora is composed of hundreds of subdivisions thus carries the name of one of the original development plats from which it sprang. Former mayor Dennis Champine once expressed the somewhat whimsical notion that eventually the area would be called the Aurora/Denver Metropolitan Area, indeed, since the 2000 Census Aurora has surpassed Denver in land area, and much of Aurora is undeveloped, while Denver is more fully built-out. However, such efforts are hampered by the lack of a large. Aurora is largely suburban in character, as evidenced by the citys modest collection of tall buildings, a large military presence has existed in Aurora since the early 20th century. In 1918, Army General Hospital #21 opened, with the U. S. government expanding and upgrading the facilities in 1941 just in time to care for the wounded servicemen of World War II. Lowry Air Force Base was opened in 1938, straddling the border of Aurora and it eventually closed in 1994, and was redeveloped into a master-planned community featuring residential, commercial, business and educational facilities. In 1942, the Army Air Corps built Buckley Field, which over the course of history has been renamed Naval Air Station, Buckley Air National Guard Base and finally Buckley Air Force Base. The base, home of the 460th Space Wing and the 140th Wing Colorado Air National Guard, is Auroras largest employer, President Warren G. Harding visited Fitzsimons Army Hospital in 1923, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited in 1936. In 1943 the hospital was the birthplace of 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, President Dwight D. Eisenhower recovered from a heart attack at Fitzsimons for seven weeks during the fall of 1955. Decommissioned in 1999, the facility is part of the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado Denver, the Anschutz Medical Campus also includes the University of Colorado Hospital, which moved to Aurora from Denver in 2007, and the Childrens Hospital. The first carbon-ion radiotherapy research and treatment facility in the U. S. has been proposed at the site and these facilities will employ a workforce of 32,000 at build-out. In 1965, mayor Norma O. Walker became the first woman to head a U. S. city with a population over 60,000
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Denver
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Denver, officially the City and County of Denver, is the capital and most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Colorado. Denver is in the South Platte River Valley on the edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level, making it the highest major city in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the reference for the Mountain Time Zone. Denver is ranked as a Beta- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. With a 2015 estimated population of 682,545, Denver ranks as the 19th-most populous U. S. city, and with a 2. 8% increase in 2015, the city is also the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The 10-county Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 2,814,330 and ranked as the 19th most populous U. S. metropolitan statistical area. The 12-city Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 3,418,876, which ranks as the 16th most populous U. S. metropolitan area. Denver is the most populous city of the 18-county Front Range Urban Corridor, Denver is the most populous city within a 500-mile radius and the second-most populous city in the Mountain West after Phoenix, Arizona. In 2016, Denver was named the best place to live in the USA by U. S. News & World Report and this was the first historical settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and by the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria, Larimer named the townsite Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped the name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County but, unbeknownst to him. The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne, the site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years, land parcels were often traded for grubstakes or gambled away by miners in Auraria, in May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express in order to secure the regions first overland wagon route. Offering daily service for passengers, mail, freight, and gold, in 1863, Western Union furthered Denvers dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28,1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1,1861, Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the territorial capital, with its newfound importance, Denver City shortened its name to Denver
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Greenwood Village, Colorado
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The City of Greenwood Village is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, as of 2010, the city has a total population of 13,925. The town was named for the Greenwood Ranch and it was developed during the 1860s when settlers came from the east and mid-west looking for gold. By the early 1900s it had become a farming community, Greenwood Village is located at 39°36′57″N 104°54′41″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 8.1 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 11,035 people,3,997 households, the population density was 1,361.0 people per square mile. There were 4,206 housing units at a density of 518.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 93. 90% White,1. 14% African American,0. 19% Native American,2. 55% Asian,0. 05% Pacific Islander,0. 61% from other races, and 1. 57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 12% of the population,17. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 3. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the family size was 3.15. Greenwood Village resides within the Cherry Creek School District, west Middle School and Campus Middle School feed Cherry Creek High School. In the city, the population was out with 29. 7% under the age of 18,5. 0% from 18 to 24,23. 9% from 25 to 44,32. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 41 years, for every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males, the median income for a household in the city was $116,147, and the median income for a family was $145,802. Males had an income of $99,088 versus $41,991 for females. The per capita income for the city was $69,189, about 1. 5% of families and 1. 9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1. 1% of those under age 18 and 4. 1% of those age 65 or over. To compare, the average US income for 2000 was $48,476 and this places Greenwood Village #31 for highest income places in the United States with a population of at least 10,000. Greenwood Village includes part of the Denver Technological Center, companies currently based in Greenwood Village, CO, American Medical Response Ciber CoBank eBags
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Centennial, Colorado
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The City of Centennial is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 100,377 at the 2010 United States Census, Centennial is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Centennial is the tenth most populous municipality in the state of Colorado, Centennial is ranked as the 15th-safest city in the country. The City of Centennial was formed on February 7,2001, from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County, including the former Castlewood, the citizens of the area had voted to incorporate on September 12,2000, choosing Centennial as the official name during the vote. The name reflects Colorados admission to the Union as the 38th state in 1876, the state of Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State. Incorporation was approved by 77% of the voters, and the population of the area at over 100,000 made it the largest incorporation in U. S. history as of its creation. The city was incorporated in large part to prevent further annexations of unincorporated areas by the city of Greenwood Village in an attempt to improve its tax base, the taxes generated from businesses in unincorporated portions of Arapahoe County funded the majority of the countys services, including road work. A number of court cases eventually established the right of incorporation to take precedence over the right of annexation, the city was incorporated on a promise to keep city taxes at 1%. According to the City of Centennial website, the current sales tax rate is two-and-a-half times the promised rate, thus, mailing addresses designated as Aurora, Englewood or Littleton may actually be located in Centennial. This causes considerable confusion, as Centennial and Englewood do not even share a boundary, while portions of Centennial are surrounded by Aurora. The city recently held a home rule charter convention where a new charter was adopted, the new charter was approved by voters on June 10,2008, by a ratio of 2-to-1. Centennial Airport, formerly Arapahoe County Airport, lies adjacent to Centennial, the airport is not named after the city, as it predates the city by over 30 years. Centennial is roughly divided in half by Interstate 25, with most of its business, Centennial hosts most native wildlife and is a good reflection of Colorados front range ecosystem. Centennial has seen a boost in coyote populations in recent years, Centennial is located at 39°3547 North, 104°5038 West. National CineMedia and United Launch Alliance are among the companies based in Centennial, according to Centennials 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are, Population,100,377. There are also 36,200 households in Centennial. The city is composed of 87. 4% White,4. 8% Hispanic or Latino,3. 6% Asian,2. 4% African American,0. 4% Native American. The median age is 37.2 years, in comparison to the 35. 3-year national average, for every 100 females there are 98 males
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Lone Tree, Colorado
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Lone Tree is an affluent home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 10,218 at the 2010 United States Census, Lone Tree is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lone Tree is located at 39°32′56″N 104°53′33″W, on the border of Douglas County. It is in what is called the South Metro area of Denver, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.6 square miles, all of it land. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,873 people,1,848 households, the population density was 2,827.2 people per square mile. There were 1,906 housing units at a density of 1,105.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 91. 55% White,1. 48% African American,0. 25% Native American,3. 69% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,1. 31% from other races, and 1. 68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4. 58% of the population,19. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 1. 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was out with 28. 3% under the age of 18,5. 4% from 18 to 24,34. 5% from 25 to 44,28. 0% from 45 to 64. The median age was 37 years, for every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males, the median income for a household in the city was $96,308, and the median income for a family was $109,003. Males had an income of $90,690 versus $43,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $46,287, about 1. 2% of families and 1. 4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1. 5% of those under age 18 and 3. 7% of those age 65 or over. The RTD Bus & Light Rails E Line and F Line both make two stops in Lone Tree, under the FasTracks voter-approved initiative, three additional stations are planned for Lone Tree. The Lone Tree Link operates free bus service along Park Meadows Drive during the weekdays, serving Lincoln Station and four other stops in the city
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RTD Bus & Rail
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RTD Bus and Rail is a transit system in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area. Operated by the Regional Transportation District, it currently runs 79 local,16 express,16 regional,11 limited and it also includes 7 light rail lines and an additional 2 commuter rail lines with 53 stations and 76 miles of track. Bus service in Denver dates back to 1924, when Denver Tramway began the first bus between Englewood and Fort Logan, buses had completely replaced the previously expansive streetcar system in metro Denver by 1950. However, cars were becoming a part of life. From 1969 to 1971, Denver Tramway required the sponsorship of the City and County of Denver to continue service, in 1971 with aging equipment, low revenues and lackluster ridership, the Denver Tramway Company transferred all of its assets to city-owned Denver Metro Transit. In 1969, the Regional Transportation District was created in the 47th session of the Colorado General Assembly to provide transportation to five additional counties in the metropolitan area. It acquired privately owned companies, improved service frequency, and expanded to routes that commercial carriers previously operated such as airport buses, in July 1974, Denver Metro Transit became part of RTD, and under the new banner, ridership began to increase. RTDs first light rail line, a 5. 3-mile section of what is now the D Line, opened on Friday and it operated with free service for that half day and the first weekend, with revenue service starting on October 10. It was estimated more than 200,000 passengers rode the new system during its two-and-a-half-day opening weekend. Since that time, several light rail lines have been opened. An 8. 7-mile southwest extension to Mineral Avenue in Littleton opened in July 2000, an additional 19-mile Southeast Corridor extension along I-25 to Lone Tree and a branch along I-225 to Parker Road were completed in November 2006 as part of Denvers T-REX project. As of April 2013, the system had 170 light rail vehicles, with the passage of FasTracks, RTD began planning for a series of commuter rail lines. The first 23.5 miles of which, the A Line servicing Denver International Airport, the primary RTD services are scheduled bus and rail routes. Most bus routes are divided into Local and Regional service levels, Light rail and commuter rail services are divided in four zones, A, B, C and airport. Local service is travel within two consecutive lettered zones, and regional service is all three lettered zones. The airport zone applies for bus or rail travel into and out of Denver International Airport, several regional bus routes to and from the South Metro were also eliminated by the openings of the Southeast & Southwest Corridors, replaced by feeder routes to light rail. G Line, Running from Nine Mile station to Lincoln station, with the completion of FasTracks I-225 corridor, the route resumed service as the R Line in 2017. Special bus services are offered for various purposes, some of the more popular special services are, call-n-Ride, which provides curb-to-curb service in specific areas
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Transportation Expansion Project
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The T-REX effort widened major interstates to as much as 7 lanes wide in each direction and added 19 miles of double-track light rail throughout the metropolitan area. Its considered by some to be one of the most successful transportation upgrade projects in the United States and it also received a National Design-Build Award from the Design-Build Institute of America. Stakeholders have been recognized nationally and internationally for its success, including quality management, success in T-REX led to public support of FasTracks during the 2004 election. The T-REX corridor carries more than 280,000 vehicles per day, T-REX was funded using no new state, county, city, or gas taxes. This was partially due to the TABOR laws enacted in 1992, instead, metropolitan areas that would benefit from the expansion voted to approve an increase of property taxes required for the build out. In November 1999, voters in affected municipalities approved two property-tax increases which partially funded the transit portion of the project, among those, Design-build contract with Southeast Corridor Constructors worth $1.18 billion. Light rail costs, $879 million, with $437 million coming from RTD and local matching funds, Highway costs, $795 million, from highway users taxes and matching federal revenue. 34 new light-rail vehicles, $91.8 million, elati Street Light Rail Maintenance Facility, $39.5 million. T-REXs initial footsteps can be traced back to a 1992 traffic congestion study commissioned by the Denver Regional Council of Governments. The study found that traffic volume along the corridor had exceeded its capacity of 180,000 vehicles per day and, within a few years. The study not only recommended widening the freeway by several lanes, in April 1995, The Colorado Department of Transportation and RTD took the first step toward developing the partnership that ultimately became T-REX. The two agencies and DRCOG commissioned the Southeast Corridor Major Investment Study, which sought the best solutions to the I-25/I-225 congestion problem, arapahoe and Douglas counties along with the cities of Denver, Aurora, and Greenwood Village participated in the initial MIS. Two other Denver-area corridor studies were also undertaken, the initial MIS was primarily transit-oriented in scope. The recommendations included light rail, highway improvements, pedestrian/bicycle facility improvements and it also recommended safety improvements such as acceleration and deceleration lanes, wider shoulders. The initial MIS did not call for additional highway lanes, the Federal Highway Administration and CDOT were troubled by this omission, and leaders of all four agencies agreed that the MIS placed too much emphasis on transit. We werent going to spend over a billion dollars on this project without involving more highway capacity and it couldnt be a predominantly transit project, Said Bill Jones, the Federal Highway Administrations Colorado Division administrator. This was the point when we realized together that the transit part of the project couldnt be built without the highway part. We looked at ways to break down the highway vs. transit rivalry and started looking at mobility, RTD Director, lets look at highway and transit as coordinated pieces of a comprehensive strategy to maximize mobility in a project with limited available right of way
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Night service (public transport)
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A night bus service or an owl service is a public transport bus service which operates through the nighttime hours. Twenty-four-hour rapid transit operation is practiced in cities, which renders these services unneeded. Some networks may run longer routes than daytime services, which may use interchanges to reach the outlying districts. Night services usually also run less frequently, the difference in services may be prefixed with an N for Night bus, or otherwise specially branded compared to the daytime services. Another common way of distinguishing them from their counterparts are dark-colored line numbers. Some night services may be provided by virtue of operating routes as 24-hour services. Some cities apply a different night bus fare structure to the daytime services, some services may allow users to alight at a requested place of stopping rather than at specific bus stops in deference to passenger concerns about safely walking long distances. Because of much longer intervals than daytime services, night bus lines often offer guarantee transfers to other lines or transit modes, to ease the planning many cities use a central hub where all lines converge at a specific time. This makes the map of many night services look like a wheel with radial lines to the center. The London night bus was the inspiration for J. K. Rowlings Knight Bus, chicago Surface Lines Owl Service was part of the inspiration for Carl Sandburgs Old Woman. The owl-car clatters along, dogged by the echo and he also refers to Owl Service in Blue Island Intersection. The owl car blutters along in a sleep-walk, a further reference is found in Nights Nothings Again. A taxi whizzes by, an owl car clutters, passengers yawn reading street signs, in A Streetcar Named Desire Act II Scene II, Mitch tells Blanche how hell get home, Ill walk over to Bourbon and catch an owl-car. The film Nattbuss 807 depicts an incident at a night bus, Night Bus is a 2007 Italian noir-comedy film directed by Davide Marengo. The Randy Travis song Three Wooden Crosses depicts a night bus travel, media related to Buses at night at Wikimedia Commons
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FasTracks
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FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District, the plan consists of new rail, light rail. Six new light rail, electric rail and diesel commuter rail lines with a combined length of 122 miles will be constructed under the plan. Originally envisioned to cost $4.7 billion and to be completed in 2017, the 2008 global financial crisis caused a drop in revenues and material costs rose faster than forecast. By 2010, the budget grew to $6.5 billion while projected revenues dropped to $4.1 billion, another tax increase was not put on the 2010 or 2012 ballot, although the project is not expected to be finished until at least 2044. Alternative funding sources, such as partnerships, have been sought to complete projects as quickly as possible. The first of the six new lines envisioned in the plan, by mid-2014, construction was underway on the five other rail lines. Two commuter rail lines opened on their dates in 2016, the East Rail Line to Denver International Airport. The Gold Line to Arvada along with the I-225 Rail Line through Aurora, were expected to open in 2016, in addition, the North Metro Rail Line to Thornton is expected open in 2018. Denver Union Station underwent $200 million worth of facility improvements to turn it into the hub for new commuter, the underground 22-bay bus concourse at Union Station opened on May 11,2014, while the restaurants, bars, and hotel officially opened July 26,2014. FasTracks is estimated to have injected $3 billion into the economy from 2005 to 2013 and is responsible for creating 12,000 direct full-time jobs since 2005. FasTracks is being funded with federal appropriations, private contributions, the project was allowed to begin when the sales tax portion of its funding was approved by Denver metro area voters in November 2004. The tax went into effect in January 2005, in 2006, engineering design of the initial segment, the West Rail Line, was begun. By spring of 2006, the environmental impact statements of all proposed lines were underway. The municipal governments of Denver, Boulder, and Lakewood had launched detailed studies of community redevelopment possibilities around station locations. The cities of Westminster, Thornton, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Sheridan, central to the regional nature of the service package is Union Station. Special studies of its redevelopment and adaptation for multiple transport modes were conducted and engineering design work, in May 2007, a $1.5 billion budget overrun was reported. Despite service and construction reductions, by January 2010 the budget had grown to $6.5 billion, at the same time, sales tax revenue forecasts for 2017 were projected to come in much less than originally anticipated leaving the project $2.45 billion short
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Colorado Department of Transportation
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The Colorado Department of Transportation is the principal department of the Colorado state government that administers state government transportation responsibilities in the state. CDOT is responsible for maintaining 9,144 mile highway system, cDOTs Mission is To provide the best multi-modal transportation system for Colorado that most effectively moves people, goods, and information. Source, CDOT1909 - The first highway bill was passed by forming a three-member Highway Commission to approve work,1917 - The State Highway Fund was created and the State Highway Department was formed. S
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Interstate 25
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Interstate 25 is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, I-25 stretches from Interstate 10 at Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Interstate 90 in Buffalo, Wyoming. Interstate 25 is the main north–south expressway through Wyoming, Colorado, the I-25 corridor is mainly rural, especially in Wyoming, excluding the Albuquerque, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and the Denver areas. The part of I-25 in Colorado passes just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and that stretch was recently involved in a large-scale renovation named the Transportation Expansion Project in Denver, and the COSMIX. Major highway work for the T-REX project ended on August 22,2006, the COSMIX project was completed in December 2007. Several other smaller improvement projects for I-25 are still ongoing within Colorado, I-25 begins at Interstate 10s exit 144 in Las Cruces, just south of the New Mexico State University campus. I-25 is concurrent with U. S. Route 85 at this point, immediately, three exits provide access to the city, including one for U. S. Route 70. When I-25 reaches Truth or Consequences, it is parallel to Elephant Butte Lake State Park, from Las Cruces to Santa Fe I-25 follows the route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. As I-25 nears Albuquerque, it has interchanges with highways such as U. S. Route 380, further north, State Road 6, former U. S. Route 66, meets up with I-25 in Los Lunas. Through Albuquerque I-25 is named the Pan American Freeway and there are frequent exits to city streets, a major interchange with Interstate 40 is named the Big I. It was given a mention by the United States Department of Transportation. Leaving Albuquerque to the north, I-25 curves to the northeast as it approaches Santa Fe, continuing northbound at Santa Fe, I-25 heads southeast for approximately 45 miles traveling through the Santa Fe National Forest and crossing Glorieta Pass. It turns north again at Blanchard toward Las Vegas, the highway maintains a north and northeast orientation as it leaves New Mexico traversing Raton Pass and enters Colorado. From Santa Fe to Trinidad, Colorado I-25 approximates part of the route of the Santa Fe Trail, for its entire length in the state, I-25 shares its alignment with US-85, although US-85 is unsigned. Interstate 25 has many nicknames through the larger cities. In Denver it is called the Valley Highway, as the highway parallels the course of the South Platte River throughout the area and is often sunken below ground level. The section in El Paso County is named the Ronald Reagan Highway, I-25 enters Colorado 14 miles south of the city of Trinidad. It is the main route through Colorado with a length of 300 miles
