RTD Seeking Proposals for Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Image Courtesy of RTD
DENVER - The Regional Transportation District (RTD) is seeking proposals for the next phases of its Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project in Denver.
RT&S has been reporting on the project’s progress. The $152 million project consists of four phases and focuses on five intersections in the Downtown Loop. Recently, the first phase was completed in September 2024. Crews are removing rail, concrete, ties, and ballast before rebuilding embedded track along the light rail line. Phases two through four will resume in 2025. Now, the RTD has initiated its procurement process to seek “multidisciplinary expertise in design, engineering, and construction” with proposals due in February 2025. In April, RTD states it will select a contractor. Remaining work will go through a design-build project delivery approach, a two-phase process that “combines the benefits of early contractor involvement with the design-build model” as a way to accelerate the project’s schedule and minimize community impacts.
Phase two of the project is the midblock reconstruction in the Downtown Loop. Phase three and four seek to reconstruct the Colfax Avenue alignment and the Welton Street Corridor, respectively. RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson said, “Maintaining all of RTD’s assets and infrastructure is essential to preserving the region’s previous investments in its mass transit system. . . Managing and maintaining assets in a state of good repair ensues the long-term integrity of the rail network for all individuals who entrust RTD to connect them with their destinations.”
