KBG Named CM for Gates Redevelopment/COSMIX Relocates Ramps/Federal Budget Includes Funds for West Corridor

Kiewit Building Group was given the official nod in early February to oversee the Gates redevelopment, an infrastructure project worth $126 million. The completed Gates Redevelopment will transform the old manufacturing site into a transit-oriented development project estimated to be worth around $1 billion.

Kiewit Gets Nod for Gates Work

Denver City Council unanimously approved in early February an $85 million public financing package for the Gates redevelopment project, formally solidifying Kiewit Building Group's contract to provide construction management for the project.

KBG, a division of Peter Kiewit Sons Inc., will provide construction management for the total $126 million project that will turn the blighted former Gates factory site into a world-class urban community in the heart of south Denver.

KBG will manage the development of the infrastructure and work closely with Ferd Belz of Cherokee Denver LLC on an active community outreach program. Kiewit will also help coordinate the anticipated $1 billion of onsite vertical development.

The completed Gates Redevelopment Project will transform the old manufacturing site into Denver's a transit-oriented development with residential, retail and commercial buildings, offices, galleries, shops, restaurants, public plazas and parks centered around the Regional Transportation District's Broadway Light Rail Station.

Construction will be completed in 2016, coinciding with the completion of RTD's $4.7 billion FasTracks mass transit program.

COSMIX Relocates Southbound Rockrimmon Boulevard Ramps

Southbound Exit 147 from Interstate 25 to Rockrimmon Boulevard moved half a mile south in late February to accommodate COSMIX construction in the North Nevada/Rockrimmon area.

The on- and off-ramps at southbound I-25 and Rockrimmon were relocated to connect to Pro Rodeo Drive, south of the current location, for three months The configuration, expected to last three months, replaces a scheduled full two-month closure of the southbound Rockrimmon ramps.

This change from the original construction schedule reduces long-term impacts to the public, a benefit of the innovative design-build construction process, said Dave Poling, project manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Project plans estimated that the southbound on and off ramps to Rockrimmon Boulevard would need to be closed for two months during construction. However, working in conjunction with the city of Colorado Springs and CDOT, Rockrimmon Constructors has minimized the impact through the use of the temporary ramps, reducing the need for a full closure down to one month in May.

The work at the Rockrimmon interchange is part of a total reconstruction of interchanges at North Nevada Avenue and Corporate Centre Drive.

When COSMIX is completed, all three streets will be accessible from one exit, similar to the exit for South Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street near downtown Colorado Springs. Frontage roads - also called "collector-distributor" roads - will run parallel to the interstate, connecting to I-25, Rockrimmon Boulevard, Nevada Avenue and Corporate Centre Drive.

Current construction plans call for the new North Nevada/Rockrimmon interchange to be completed in late 2007. However, the flexibility offered by the design-build process will enable the new frontage roads, both north- and southbound, to open as early as this summer.

Elati Light Rail Maintenance Facility Receives APWA Award

The Regional Transportation District's Elati Light Rail Maintenance Facility was selected as the American Public Works Association's 2005 award winner for the Colorado Chapter.

The facility was cited as an extraordinary public works project. Built as part of T-REX, it will serve the 34 new light rail vehicles that will operate on the Southeast Light Rail, as well as vehicles running on the existing C and D lines.

A number of innovations were used in the design of the facility, including the installation of 12-ft-long blade fans to recycle warm air to the maintenance floor in the winter and move cool air in the summer.

T-REX is scheduled for completion with the opening of the Southeast Light Rail Line on Nov. 17.

FY2007 Budget Earmarks Money for West Corridor Line

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced plans in February to spend $1.5 billion on transit programs, including full funding of Denver's West Corridor Line.

The spending plan, included in the budget submitted to Congress, provides for multi-year funding for 23 existing projects and five new projects eligible for funding based on progress in the months ahead.

The recommendations are part of the Annual Report on New Starts for FY2007. The New Starts report includes $572 million in annual funding for 16 projects to which the federal government has already made long-term funding commitments, known as Full Funding Grant Agreements.

New this year is $303 million in funding recommended for five new projects in four states. Of that, $35 million is set aside for the Denver's West Corridor light rail project for a 12-mile extension along the city's second busiest traffic corridor.

Now under final design, the West Corridor is the first FasTracks project to get under way. The 12-station light rail extension begins at the existing Auraria Station downtown and extends 12.1 miles west, parallel to West 13th Avenue and then West 6th Avenue, which carries the second highest traffic volume in the region.

The West Corridor will serve Lakewood and other activity centers, providing connections to the Denver Tech Center, the second largest employment center in the metropolitan area. It will also facilitate development opportunities along the corridor.

The line is expected to carry 28,700 average weekly riders, including 4,700 daily new riders, by 2026.

The project will cost a total of $593 million. For more information, go to www.rtdwestcorridor.com.

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