Wikipedia
FasTracks is a multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan under construction in metropolitan Denver, Colorado, United States. Developed by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the plan consists of new commuter rail, light rail, and express bus services. Six new light rail, electric commuter rail and diesel commuter rail lines with a combined length of will be constructed under the plan. It expands on previous transportation projects, notably T-REX, and includes 57 new transit stations and stops, 21,000 new parking spaces, of a bus service between Denver and Boulder and the renovation of Denver Union Station as a multi-modal transportation hub.
Originally envisioned to cost $4.7 billion and to be completed in 2017, voters in the eight counties that comprise the RTD approved a 0.4 percent sales tax increase in 2004. 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 public-private partnerships, have been sought to complete projects as quickly as possible.
The first of the six new lines envisioned in the plan, the West Corridor light rail line to Golden, Colorado, opened for revenue service on April 26, 2013. By mid-2014, construction was underway on the five other rail lines. Three of the commuter rail lines, the East Rail Line to Denver International Airport, the Gold Line to Arvada, and the portion of the Northwest Rail Line to south Westminster, along with the I-225 Rail Line through Aurora, are projected to open in 2016. In addition, the North Metro Rail Line to Thornton will open in 2018.
Denver Union Station underwent $200 million worth of facility improvements to turn it into the hub for new commuter and light rail lines as well as bus service in downtown Denver. 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. The renovation has spurred development and economic expansion in the surrounding area with developers adding 3,500 residential units and 1.5 million square feet of office space to the immediate neighborhood. FasTracks is estimated to have injected $3 billion into the local economy from 2005 to 2013 and is responsible for creating 12,000 direct full-time jobs since 2005.