A long-discussed plan to build a diesel commuter rail corridor that would connect the cities of Denver to Longmont, with a stop in between at Boulder, will be the subject of a full-scale feasibility study.
Board members of the Denver-based Regional Transportation District have voted in favor of spending around $8 million to look at the pros and cons of what would be a roughly 40-mile-long rail on the more populous east side of the state.
Public officials in Colorado, including Governor Jared Polis, have been pushing to get underway what could be an at least $710 million construction project.
A proposal to build the line was originally approved by Colorado voters nearly 17 years ago, in 2004, with proponents of the idea saying that the line would be fully operational by 2014.
Concerns over exactly how much the new line would cost by the time of its completion, which included the rising cost of raw materials, and the extent of its daily scheduled services, are among the factors that have prompted continued discussions about the project but have also led to its construction delay.
Estimates predicting that the daily ridership might only be upwards of 5,400, compared with 10,000 or so earlier projected by RTD, may have dampened enthusiasm for the project.
The new study is intended to give the RTD an up-to-date picture on costs and function. That study is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
As earlier reported, the RTD FasTracks Environmental Evaluation was completed in 2010 and analyzed the benefits of implementing the route along the right-of-way adjacent to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail track.
By Garry Boulard
