DENVER | Transportation Thread

[SnyderBock]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Ryan's Beat

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...train-stations

Is Ryan giving us the straight scoop?

Back to the bugaboo about Union Rules.

Calling in sick, 30 minutes before the start of your shift, is not cool. That doesn't allow time for the employer (RTD), to call someone else in to cover the shift. Why would RTD have ever agreed to that in the first place? Colorado law says employees must call in sick 2 hours prior to the start of their shift, or provide a DR's note indicating they were unable to work and when they are cleared to return to work. Many southern states require a 4 hour notice to call in sick without a DR's note. 30 minutes is too impactful on operations, to be acceptable.

[TakeFive]

This sounds serious

Feds target Seattle transportation projects as part of criminal inquiry
December 30, 2019 By David Kroman - Crosscut

Officials must comply with a subpoena for documents related to the bus routes, streetcar and other projects by next week.

The subpoena, sent Dec. 12, was authored by Special Agent Jason Foster, an investigator with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, which is responsible for reviewing and auditing the administration of dollars from the federal department. In one email seen by Crosscut, Foster refers to the investigation as a “criminal inquiry.” A government employee close to the investigation, who is not authorized to speak to the press on this matter, confirmed that criminal investigators are involved in the inquiry.

[TakeFive]

Anything transit the 'state' of Washington can do, Colorado can do better

Colorado's rural transit leads in ridership
Dec 30, 2019 By Michael Karlik - Colorado Politics

Colorado leads the nation in ridership on rural transit systems, with 16.7 million boardings in 2017. That number does not include approximately 3.2 million boardings in Vail, whose bus system is excluded from the federal data.

The FTA reported that in 2018... Colorado had 17.3 million passenger boardings, surpassing the second-highest state, Washington, which had 14.8 million boardings in its non-urbanized transit.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Anything transit the 'state' of Washington can do, Colorado can do better

Colorado's rural transit leads in ridership
Dec 30, 2019 By Michael Karlik - Colorado Politics

That's pretty awesome news actually. Makes sense. More and more people want an alternative to get out to the major points of interest in the mountains without battling traffic on 70 and Bustang continues to expand options to commuters. I keep meaning to try out the "SnowStang" service to one of the resorts this winter just to see how well it does.

[TakeFive]

You gotta dance with the one that brung ya

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n..._news_headline

A contract that will grant United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) 24 of the 39 new gates being constructed as part of the gate expansion project at Denver International Airport is up for a vote at the next Denver City Council’s Business, Arts, Workforce & Aviation Services Committee meeting on Jan. 8.

If approved by the committee, the contract would then head to the full City Council.

Like the energizer bunny DIA keeps going and growing.

In May 2018, construction work began on DIA’s $1.5 billion gate expansion project. The project will add 39 new gates to DIA, expanding the airport's gate capacity by 30%.

“This amendment is for the lease of additional gates and support space by United Airlines,” “The most current rates and charges will be applied to all new space … They currently have a 40-year lease that runs through 2/28/35.”

That would leave 15 additional new gates for everybody else. Guess you could conclude the expansion was warranted and timely.

[mishko27]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

You gotta dance with the one that brung ya

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n..._news_headline

Like the energizer bunny DIA keeps going and growing.

That would leave 15 additional new gates for everybody else. Guess you could conclude the expansion was warranted and timely.

Based on my understanding from some insiders on the project, the 15 additional gates are not nearly enough for everyone else. The honestly need a Concourse D.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by mishko27

Based on my understanding from some insiders on the project, the 15 additional gates are not nearly enough for everyone else. The honestly need a Concourse D.

Courtesy of DIA via ENR

You got me to digging around. An older Master Plan guessed that terminal D would be needed 2020-2025 and that was based on an original assumed capacity of 50 million passengers. Last year there were ~64.5 million passengers and in 2019 they should come close to 68.5 million passengers.

With respect to the current expansion I found these bullet points.

• DEN is expecting to hit 80 million passengers by 2025 and 110 million passengers by 2040
• When the airport opened in 1995, 60% of the passengers connected through DEN. Today, nearly 65% originate from DEN and only 35% connect and that puts much more stress on the terminal facility than ever anticipated

I also found where they estimated being able to add about 50 new gates. It looks like they still have room for another 11 or so gates or enough to handle their 80 million passenger estimate in 2025.

In addition to the new gates DIA will spend about $1 billion on the Jeppeson Terminal which on top of previous renovations will replace everything that could possibly need replacing. The idea is also to efficiently be able to handle more passengers.

The last Master Plan review and update nixed the original plan to add Concourses D and E as it would require expansion of the underground train tunnels to add capacity. That is now deemed to be prohibitively expensive.

Not sure what they currently think the passenger capacity will be after renovations? Beyond that they're looking to add a new East-West Terminal to the south of Jeppeson. They mentioned possibly using this area for international flights as well as other flights with up to an additional 60 gates.

[CharlesCO]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

The last Master Plan review and update nixed the original plan to add Concourses D and E as it would require expansion of the underground train tunnels to add capacity. That is now deemed to be prohibitively expensive.

Not sure what they currently think the passenger capacity will be after renovations? Beyond that they're looking to add a new East-West Terminal to the south of Jeppeson. They mentioned possibly using this area for international flights as well as other flights with up to an additional 60 gates.

From what I read, they haven't completely ruled out building a future D and E where they were originally intended. They could do the south terminal expansion (likely over the current RTD platform) and east and west concourses parallel to the terminal (unclear how they'd be connected) *and* also D and E at a later date. That would mean seven concourses and ~300 gates!

The big issue with D and E is the train. It would need a significant capacity boost in order to stomach another 1-2 concourses' worth of passengers. Looks like one option would be to tunnel underneath the east and west ends of the concourses, add stations there, and turn the system into two loops.

The next concourse is still probably about ten years out as there's still going to be some room to expand on the east end of A and west end of C. Kim Day was noncommittal in the press a few months ago as to where and when the next concourse may take place.

[mhays]

DIA's expansion plans are funny from my Seattle perspective. We have almost zero land.

A plan is being studied to add another separate terminal with a moderate number of new gates. There's so little room that check-ins might be on one side of the main access highway, with a skybridge to the actual gates. Literally another 50 feet of space would totally change the options.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by CharlesCO

The big issue with D and E is the train. It would need a significant capacity boost in order to stomach another 1-2 concourses' worth of passengers. Looks like one option would be to tunnel underneath the east and west ends of the concourses, add stations there, and turn the system into two loops.

This sounds like more fun! The redundancy would be a Big Plus. Besides tunneling has become more fashionable.

There's Elon Musk's Boring Company. Seattle has been doing lots of tunneling and some of it is waay more difficult than this would be. Even the Mexicans know how to tunnel - under the border.

Originally Posted by mhays

DIA's expansion plans are funny from my Seattle perspective. We have almost zero land.

A plan is being studied to add another separate terminal with a moderate number of new gates. There's so little room that check-ins might be on one side of the main access highway, with a skybridge to the actual gates. Literally another 50 feet of space would totally change the options.

That's hilarious. But logistically perhaps not all that different from many airports.

At the rate SeaTac is growing I can imagine the need.

[CharlesCO]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

This sounds like more fun! The redundancy would be a Big Plus. Besides tunneling has become more fashionable.

There's Elon Musk's Boring Company. Seattle has been doing lots of tunneling and some of it is waay more difficult than this would be. Even the Mexicans know how to tunnel - under the border.

I suppose at least, unlike tunnel boring or cut-and-cover in building a subway in a city, there probably aren't any utilities to move where they'd need to build the tunnels. But it is right in the middle of a very active airport apron, which I'm sure adds its own level of complexity to such a project. Building additional tracks and platforms next to the existing ones would probably be a serious undertaking as well.

They're currently in the middle of boosting train capacity with new Bombardier cars and upgraded signaling. We'll see how much that helps. I believe they also have the ability in the near-term to expand the platforms and go from 4-car trains to 6-car trains. Also, the Great Hall redevelopment will do away with the bridge security, making the bridge completely airside and open 24 hours. It'll be the first thing you see once you clear the two security checkpoints, so in theory, more passengers will also start using the bridge.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by CharlesCO

They're currently in the middle of boosting train capacity with new Bombardier cars and upgraded signaling. We'll see how much that helps. I believe they also have the ability in the near-term to expand the platforms and go from 4-car trains to 6-car trains. Also, the Great Hall redevelopment will do away with the bridge security, making the bridge completely airside and open 24 hours. It'll be the first thing you see once you clear the two security checkpoints, so in theory, more passengers will also start using the bridge.

I wasn't aware they could boost train capacity in that fashion. Presumably that's as important in providing more 'runway' as is adding new gates.

It will be exciting when they finish all the logistical and aesthetic changes.

[TakeFive]

What's new in the world of transit?

How L.A. Metro plans to close billion-dollar funding gaps on major rail projects
DEC. 25, 2019 By LAURA J. NELSON - LAT

The bids that arrived last year to extend the Gold Line east of Azusa were hundreds of millions of dollars higher than officials had expected.

The price tag ballooned 38% to $2.1 billion. To stay within budget, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority was forced to truncate the line, postponing the construction of two stations and three miles of track. “We were totally shocked,” Chief Executive Habib Balian said. “It was way, way off from what our estimates were.”

Is this atypical?

The unexpected cost increase is not unique to the Gold Line: It is one of at least three planned rail projects in Southern California facing a significant funding gap, underscoring the challenges of the region’s ambitious plan to build nearly two dozen major projects over the next four decades.

Voter's revenge in Seattle

With the recent voter approval of I-976 or the car tab fee initiative, car tab fees will be a flat $30. Subject to legal challenges...

All told, a state fiscal analysis estimates that I-976 will cause state and local governments to lose about $4 billion in revenue for transportation projects over the next six years.

Sound Transit officials estimate that passage of I-976 will cost them about $20 billion through 2041, which they say could delay voter-approved transit and light rail projects. Some of that projected revenue loss will result directly from the cuts to car-tab fees, the agency estimates, while the rest will come from increased financing costs.

When Sound Transit 3 passed it included a healthy increase in annual vehicle license fees based on vehicle value. Soaking the naive for all they could get, what was especially tacky was vehicle values were based on MSRP's (which nobody pays) and it was assumed values only dropped 5% per years.

Isn't it nice to know that FasTracks will soon be a finished canvass

[mhays]

Seattle agencies have won an injunction are are still collecting those taxes. The main case is pending. The initiative guy seems to write initiatives with the intent of getting turned back by the courts (Tim Eyman does this for a living and might even want to lose; he also has legal troubles for theft and corruption), and this one seems likely to go the right way.

As for LA, it's not uncommon for an agency to be totally surprised when the bids come in. The amount they're off is unusual, but it's common to be off by double digits.

You can usually get far closer by getting the GC on board a year or two in advance (for the average office or apartment building for example, and for a lot of public works), so at least you have realistic estimates before the sub pricing comes in.

Better yet, you can go design-build so the team is hired on qualifications and business terms, then the designers and contractors are working on the same team to get the whole thing within budget.

[Launch 12]

http://www.denverpost.com/2020/01/07...west-rail-line

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Launch 12

http://www.denverpost.com/2020/01/07...west-rail-line

Knock yourself out
RTD has bigger fish to fry.

https://www.timescall.com/2020/01/06...est-rail-line/

“We do have to get the blessing of RTD in order to operate within their jurisdiction,” he said, as well as agreements from at least some of the cities along the proposed route.

Rocky Mountain Rail Inc., which says it has a “sustainable transportation plan” for passenger rail service between Westminster and Longmont, has scheduled a series of public forums over the coming weeks to present its proposal.

Rocky Mountain Rail is not affiliated with or funded by RTD or any of the cities or counties along that corridor, but stated in a news release that it has developed a proposal to complete the Northwest commuter rail line by 2025.

[TakeFive]

From the department of "Did you know this?"

https://www.rtd-denver.com/news-stop...-rtd-operators

On snowy days, light rail operators work overnight to run the trains along the various alignments so that the overhead power lines don’t freeze.

[The Dirt]

If only they would put people on those trains.

[TakeFive]

This flew completely under my radar

DIA's 2 new baggage systems are on track to be completed in 2021
Jan 9, 2020 By Monica Vendituoli – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

By the end of 2021, DIA will have two new baggage system projects completed, Stu Williams, senior vice president of airport expansion at DIA, told Denver Business Journal. Both projects aim to improve DIA’s baggage handling amid its record growth, he said.

Greenwood Village-based aviation engineering firm Logplan is currently providing maintenance support, operational support, design services, construction management and consulting services related to the baggage-handling system within Level 5.5 and the consolidated Checked Baggage Resolution Area at DIA. The $96 million Level 5.5 project is scheduled to be completed by June and the $150 million CBRA should go live in August 2021, Williams said.

So does this local 'Logplan' company know what they're doing?

Logplan has installed similar technology at airports in Canada, Europe and the Middle East, but DIA is the first U.S. airport to utilize the technology, Boegner said.

It gets a bit complicated but follows needs that resulted from 9-11 and goes to those bags that are flagged for secondary inspection by the TSA.

That new system will place the bags that failed the initial check onto carts that are then placed within a loop to one of the two TSA rooms to be further checked.

“We are building kind of a racetrack around the terminal,” Williams said. “The benefits are huge. TSA right now has to staff all of those nine rooms because they don’t know where a bag might come from … and while they’ll still have a lot of folks here, they won’t have a lot of folks in places that aren’t being utilized.”

[TakeFive]

Wonders never cease

Governor Abbott Says Texas Is Finished Building Highways
JANUARY 10, 2020 BY PETER SIMEK - D-MAG

“The bottom line is this: The way people get around, the way people live is going to change,” Abbott said, according to the Rivard Report. “As a result, this generation of roads that [Texas Transportation Commission Chairman] Bruce Bugg is in charge of building is probably the last major buildout of roads we’ll have in the state of Texas, even considering the fact that Texas is the fastest-growing state in America.”

What is the Governor possibly thinking?

That statement is remarkable—if not outright shocking—considering how wedded Texas’ transportation policy has been to the mantra of big roads. Abbott went on in his speech to suggest that one of the reasons that Texas won’t be building roads is because new populations will flock to cities and denser areas of the state where they won’t be as reliant on automobile transportation.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?