RTD invites proposals for the next phases of its Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project
RTD is seeking proposals from qualified design-build teams to complete the remaining phases of its Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project. Earlier today, RTD initiated the procurement process, which seeks multidisciplinary expertise in design, engineering, and construction. Information about the Request for Proposals (RFP) solicitation is currently available through the agency’s online procurement portal. Proposals are due in February 2025, and the agency anticipates selecting a contractor in April.
The first phase of the Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project began in May 2024 and focused on 30-year-old infrastructure at five key intersections in the Downtown Loop. The full-depth reconstruction process involved removing existing rail, concrete, ties, and ballast before rebuilding the embedded track along RTD’s inaugural light rail line. The first phase was completed ahead of schedule in September, and RTD is now seeking proposals for the remaining three phases of the approximately $152 million project.
“Maintaining all of RTD’s assets and infrastructure is essential to preserving the region’s previous investments in its mass transit system,” said Debra A. Johnson, RTD General Manager and Chief Executive Officer. “Managing and maintaining assets in a state of good repair ensures the long-term integrity of the rail network for all individuals who entrust RTD to connect them with their destinations.”
To complete the remaining reconstruction work, which will resume in 2025, RTD will use a progressive design-build project delivery approach. This approach is a project delivery method that combines the benefits of early contractor involvement with the design-build model. It's a two-phase process that involves the owner and the design-build team working together to develop a final design, schedule, and budget and will accelerate the project schedule and minimize the overall impacts to customers and the community. The RFP process will result in a single contract being awarded for both a project designer and construction contractor. After successfully completing a validation of the existing information, the contractor will then have an opportunity to negotiate the cost for the project’s final design and construction.
The subsequent three phases of the project will begin in 2025, and work on each phase may simultaneously occur.
- Phase Two: Midblock Reconstruction in Downtown Loop
- Phase Three: Colfax Avenue Alignment Reconstruction
- Phase Four: Welton Street Corridor
Similar to Phase One in 2024, all D and H line trains will be rerouted to Denver Union Station during the reconstruction work, and L Line service, which connects 30th•Downing Station to the Downtown Loop, will be temporarily suspended. No light rail service will operate in RTD’s central corridor until the reconstruction project has been fully completed.
Similar to Phase I of the project, ahead of the project commencing in 2025, RTD will launch a comprehensive marketing, outreach, and communications campaign to ensure customers and the public are aware of the reconstruction project, as well as impacts to transit services.