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FasTracks is a multi-billion 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/media/uploads/main/GeneralfactSheet2013.pdf )〕 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, causing the completion date for the full expansion to be pushed back to 2042. 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/media/uploads/main/FT_Gen_Fact_Sheet_2014.pdf )〕 ==Progress== FasTracks is being funded with federal appropriations, private contributions, and a region-wide sales tax increase. The project was allowed to begin when the sales tax portion of its funding was approved by Denver metro area voters in November 2004. The tax went into effect in January 2005. In 2006, engineering design of the initial segment, the West Rail Line, was begun. By spring of 2006, the environmental impact statements of all other proposed lines were underway. The municipal governments of Denver, Boulder, and Lakewood had launched detailed studies of community redevelopment possibilities around station locations. The cities of Westminster, Thornton, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Sheridan, and Arvada are also planning transit oriented development areas around some of their proposed rail stations. Central to the regional nature of the service package is Union Station. Special studies of its redevelopment and adaptation for multiple transport modes were conducted and engineering design work and property development work was underway in 2006. In May 2007, a $1.5 billion budget overrun was reported. Despite service and construction reductions, by January 2010 the budget had grown to $6.5 billion (a $1.8 billion overrun). At the same time, sales tax revenue forecasts for 2017 were projected to come in much less than originally anticipated leaving the project $2.45 billion short. On April 13, 2010, the RTD board of directors decided to postpone asking voters to further increase the current sales tax. If the tax increase fails to be implemented, the full build-out of the FasTracks plan may not take place until 2042. On August 31, 2011, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the US Department of Transportation had approved a $1 billion grant to the Eagle P3 project, which consists of the East and Gold commuter rail lines, covering half of the $2 billion cost of the construction of the two lines. In March 2012, RTD received an unsolicited proposal to build the I-225 Corridor line from Kiewit Infrastructure Co. After determining the proposal had merit and seeking other bids, RTD selected Kiewit to build the line. In 2013, RTD received a second unsolicited proposal this time to build the North Metro Line. RTD sought bids to build the line out in multiple phases. After receiving four bids, RTD selected the partnership of Graham Contracting Ltd., Balfour Beatty Rail Inc. and Harmon Contractors Inc. (GBBH), the same group that had submitted the unsolicited proposal.〔 On April 26, 2013, the first completed segment of the FasTracks regional transit-expansion plan was opened to the public, the W Line. In November 2014, the first commuter rail cars arrived in Denver from the Hyundai–Rotem USA plant in Philadelphia, PA. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「FasTracks」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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