WATCH DPTV: Molly Hughes with today’s top stories
Now that crews have finished expanding Interstate 225 into a six-lane highway, the focus is on finishing the 10.5-mile stretch of light rail through the corridor in Aurora within two years.
Two years and counting — not that anyone in the city is counting.
“It’s a real big deal,” said RTD board member Tom Tobiassen.
Kiewit Corp. is building the light-rail project, which some had feared would not open for years or even decades.
Widening the often congested freeway and adding light rail is a key component to the city’s development of the Anschutz Medical Campus and the corridor. The campus, off East Colfax Avenue and I-225, is the centerpiece of Aurora’s continuing transformation.
“As I have said before, the completion of the Aurora light-rail line will change the face of the city forever,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said.
The Aurora Line, as the city is calling it, runs from the current Dayton Street and Nine Mile stations, with eight new stations along the highway to the Peoria-Smith Station near Interstate 70. From there, it will connect to electric commuter rail lines now under construction, where passengers will be able to go all the way to Denver International Airport or Union Station and numerous stops in between.
A new parking structure, along with the current one at Nine Mile, is being built at the Iliff Station stop, but there will be parking areas at other stations, including at the Aurora Metro Center near the municipal center and the Town Center at Aurora mall, said Aurora city planner John Fernandez.
The price tag for the light-rail project, which has been under construction since 2013, is $350 million, said Lisa Trujillo, FasTracks spokeswoman.
The city of Aurora is already receiving contact from companies that want to build commercial and residential projects around the transit-oriented stations along the Aurora Line, Hogan said.
Developing those areas into places where people can shop, live and work is important for the city going forward, officials said. The Anschutz Medical Campus alone will have more than 30,000 people working there each day.
“I’m looking forward to the opening in only two years,” Hogan said, “and I look forward to enjoying the benefits to Aurora citizens for the next 20 years.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or twitter.com/cillescasdp
