HomeMy WebLinkAbout20012284.tiff Statewide Planning News
News on the Statewide Transportation Planning Process Summer 2001
TREX Evolution Begins - 2001 Legislative Summary
1-25 Project Moves Ahead
The 2001 Legislative Session of the Colorado General
Nancy Syzdek, PRACO, Ltd. Assembly closed May 9. Growth was the main focus
this year, with the Legislature debating the issue into a
May was a monster month for what used to be called Special Session. No agreement was reached during
the Southeast Corridor Project along 1-25 and 1-225. the Special Session either, so growth will likely be
The project has a new name, a new Web site and new revisited during the regular legislative session next
project team members who will lead the design-build year.
efforts along the corridor.
Aside from growth, other issues this year included
The project is a landmark collaborative endeavor finance and transportation. In fact, there were several
between the Colorado Department of Transportation bills introduced which addressed funding concerns for
(CDOT) and the Regional Transportation District CDOT. Some of these bills are highlighted below:
(RTD) and is shaped by extensive public input from
across the metro Denver area. By integrating design • Legislation was adopted early on in the session
and construction phases for speed, economy and (HB 01-1267) to backfill the losses to CDOT
innovation, the project has demanding goals for created by the passage of Amendment 23. This
quality, schedule, budget and most importantly, entailed a transfer of approximately $212
minimizing inconvenience to the public. This is the million from the state's Controlled Mainte-
first major reconstruction effort on 1-25 since it was nance Fund into the General Fund, thus replen-
first built in the 1950's. The concept, funding and fishing the mandatory 6% reserve in the General
cooperation between agencies arc precedent setting. Fund. With the General Fund replenished, the
And the whole project- 19 miles of light rail, 17 miles funds from Senate Bill 97-001 were once again
of improved and expanded highway, eight new available.
bridges, 13 new light rail stations- is scheduled for
completion by the end of 2006. - Passage of a bill (SB 01-217) to divert an
continued on page 4 additional $3 million to the Aviation Account in
the State Infrastructure Bank.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE • Restoration of nearly $9 million in gaming
funds to CDOT in the annual appropriations
bill after the funds were initially dropped from
Page CDOT's appropriation. These funds are used
1 TREX Evolution Begins- I-25 Project for transportation projects in the gaming areas.
Moves Ahead
Passage of HB 01-1402 allows for at least a
1 2001 Legislative Summary two-year continuation of the Envirotest pro-
2 Short Grass Prairie Initiative continued on page 3
2 Highlights ` �,einFi
3 CDOT TRANs- Bond Program Update tat\O/ ja-- ell. a?,
3 In Brief -�
2001-2284
CD/Ise/hi yelida-2 Statewide Planning News 1
fie:i (4
sion of Wildlife, CDOT will be evaluating sites in the
coming months. Sites will be selected based on
scientific surveys; private landowners who are inter-
ested in participating may do so either through selling
Short Grass Prairie a conservation easement over their land, or fee-title.
Sites will be conserved or purchased only from willing
Initiative sellers.
Partnership will help preserve prairie and "at
risk"species The Division of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, or
other appropriate agency will manage the lands;
A groundbreaking partnership has been formed to help however, the agreement outlines that the partners
preserve short grass prairie habitat in Colorado and its intend to work collaboratively with members of the
"at risk" species. agricultural community, including surrounding land-
owners, to develop appropriate management plans.
The partnership includes the Colorado Department of
Transportation, The Nature Conservancy of Colorado, Norton pointed out several advantages to the partner-
Federal Highway Administration, US Fish and Wild- ship:
life Service, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, a
division of the Colorado Department of Natural • Rather than spending significant resources and
Resources. The partners signed the agreement at the time to offset minor environmental impacts on
April Transportation Commission meeting. projects scattered throughout the plains, funds
can be invested for long term preservation of
Under the agreement, the partners will work with local entire ecosystems.
communities and landowners to preserve thousands of • Preserving large ecosystems can help prevent
acres of short grass prairie in eastern Colorado. They the decline of imperiled species.
will work with conservation organizations and mem- • Proactively investing in environmental mitiga-
bers of the agricultural community to manage the land tion now will reduce the costs of building
in a way that benefits the prairie habitat. transportation projects in the future.
Protection of that habitat will also help protect certain "This agreement shows that by being imaginative, you
species of wildlife determined to be"at risk" of can balance the need for transportation improvements
extinction by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These and environmental protection," Norton said. "Project
species include the mountain plover and black-tailed by project mitigation costs more and ultimately is not
prairie dog. Other species that will benefit from the as effective in helping preserve the environment." •
agreement include the burrowing owl, swift fox and
ferruginous hawk. Highlights
"Much of our prairie land in Colorado is vanishing and Transportation Commission Meetings for 3rd Quarter:
some of that land is being used for transportation August 28,CDOT Headquarters Auditorium
projects. We have an obligation to provide transporta- September 20, CDOT Headquarters Auditorium
tion for a growing state but we also have an obligation October 18,CDOT Headquarters Auditorium
to help protect our environment," said CDOT execu- Fall Transit Conference:
tive director Tom Norton. September 9-12,Grand Junction-For information contact
CASTA at 303 839-5197 or go to their websitc:
Only about 40 percent of Colorado's short grass www.coloradotransit.com
prairie still remains and much of it has been degraded
due to fragmentation and overuse. 74th Annual Transportation Conference-Connecting
Colorado: October 18& 19- Invesco Field at Mile High
CDOT is budgeting $5 million for purchase of short Stadium,Club Level. Registration materials will be
grass prairie habitat in eastern Colorado. With the available in late-August. For more information call Dennis
assistance of The Nature Conservancy and the Divi- VanPatter at 303 757-9509.
Statewide Planning News 2
2001 Legislative Summary, continued from page 1
gram, and for an evaluation of the program by CDOT TRANs - Bond
the Department of Public Health and Environ-
ment. The results of this evaluation will give program Update 2001 t`;
the legislature information that it will analyze
in deciding whether to extend the program, or Laurie Freedle, CDOT, Office of Financial
to open the contract up to new bidders. This Management & Budget
action by the legislature insures that a program
will be in place this December, and that CDOT CDOT closed on the Transportation Revenue Anticipa-
will not lose the $350 million in funding tion Notes (TRANs), Series 2001A on April 17, 2001.
contingent on the continuation of an air quality This second issue of TRANs was a resounding suc-
program. cess.
• The Public Private Initiative program was At the kickoff meeting on January 24, 2001, the
bonding work group, comprised of investment bank-
expanded to encourage unsolicited public
ers, financial advisors, and legal counsel, was in-
private partnership proposals. HB 01-1369
added flexibility to the current Public Private formed that the passage of Amendment 23 had a
statutes and should serve as an incentive for severe effect on CDOT's Strategic Corridor Program.
This constitutional amendment, which increased
private sector participation. •
funding to K-12 education, had inadvertently removed
funds from CDOT's sales and use tax allocation. The
In Brief impact was that funds necessary for debt service were
acutely reduced. CDOT had to quickly restructure the
Intercity Bus Feasibility Study— entire Strategic Corridor Program, lowering the
CDOT is working together with several public and amount to be bonded from $500 million to $120
private entities to study the feasibility of intercity bus million, and creating a whole new strategy for the
service along the Front Range, from Pueblo to Fort bonding.
Collins. The study will analyze the cost of providing
service, what types of additional facilities would be While working diligently on proceeding with the
necessary, and what the demand would be over the reduced bonding scenario, CDOT coordinated an
next 5-8 years. effort to get the SB 97-001 funding reinstated by the
legislature. The legislature responded to this situation
The study is expected to be completed by December, in record time, passing HB 01-1267 on February 13th.
2001. If you have any questions about the study, This bill allowed the SB 97-001 funds to be replaced
please call Tom Mauser at 303 757-9768. by instituting a one-time transfer of monies from the
State's Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund to the
Planning Process Training— General Fund. Now the work group was able to
CDOT's Regional Planning staff has been attending concentrate on the strategy for bonding at the higher,
local meetings around the state in order to provide $500 million range.
training for the long-range transportation planning
process. The November 2000 elections brought many The next step was rating of the bonds, a process that
new faces to local government and the planning tells buyers the quality of bonds being offered, and
process. This training has been developed in order to thus, affects the interest rate the Department pays on
provide an overview of the process and the roles that the bonds. There was some concern that the passage
local and state officials play, as well as the importance of Amendment 23 could cause consternation with the
of public input. rating agencies. If they believed that the Department
was not able to maintain the high coverage ratios
If you have not had the opportunity to attend any (revenues vs debt service), then they might downgrade
training sessions and would like CDOT to present to the bonds. Fortunately, the Transportation
your group, please contact George Ventura at Commission's quick action in realigning the program
303 757-9495. for the reduced revenues, coupled with the
continued on page 6 legislature's show of support for CDOT in passing IIB
continued on page 4
Statewide Planning News 3
CDOT TRANs, continued from page 3 TREX Evolution Begins, continued from page]
01-1267, persuaded the raters that the Department's
bonds were a good investment. The Department once ! '
again received ratings of Aa3/AA/AA from Moody's,
LYS
Fitch, and Standard& Poor's.
AANS PONYAflON eX rANS4ON ➢kUletY
METRO DENVER/COLORADO
Next came marketing and pricing of the bonds. The
bonds were presented to local retail brokers and The New Name
institutional investors at a live presentation, and via The Southeast Corridor Project was officially renamed
the internet with a recorded presentation on March 27. "Transportation Expansion Project" or T-REX on
On April 2, the bonds were sold to the retail market May 17. The new name was chosen following an
(sales to the public). The retail order period was quite extensive research and development process that
successful, totaling $65 million in sales. On the demonstrated the public's lack of knowledge of the
following day, the institutional pricing began. The Southeast Corridor name or what it represented. The
bonds were very well received, and CDOT was able to name had to capture the enormity of the project while
secure a financing cost of just under 4.5% on the total adding personality, a degree of fun, and illustrate the
transaction. benefits of the project upon completion.
Even with all of the complicating issues being dealt "Since our project's primary goal is to minimize
with, the Series 2001 A bonding of TRANs was an inconvenience to the public, we need to shape our
enormous success. The ratings and prices attained on public information efforts around a name and graphic
this issuance were quite favorable, creating a substan- look that will attract attention," said Toni Gatzen, T-
tial savings in tax dollars. The improvements that will REX public information team manager. "When people
be realized will benefit the citizens of Colorado and see this new name and logo, they know this is the
the traveling public for many years to come. • place they can get information about this project."
The New Web Site
TRANs History Along with the fresh name, a new Web site has been
The following arc the results of the two bond deals closed to launched at www.trexproject.com. This highly
date. As is presented below, the Series 2001 A bonds were interactive site will eventually include information
sold at a much lower interest rate and therefore allowed us tailored to a variety of audiences including residents,
to issue more bonds than we were anticipating if rates had businesses, commuters and media. It will feature
been similar to those in 2000. A majority of the bond construction schedule and activity information as well
proceeds issued this year will be used to fund nearly half of as closed circuit TV camera images and travel times
the$800 million CDOT share of T-Rex project. along the project's routes. Future plans for the Web
site include installing a subscriber service where users
Series 2000 Bonds can enter information about their commutes and
Date Closed June 1,2000 receive e-mail updates about the conditions along their
Bond Proceeds $535,799,271
designated routes.
True Interest Cost 5.68%
Average Coupon 5.91%
Number of Projects Accelerated with The New Project Team Members
Bond Proceeds 17 projects On May 22, T-REX Project officials welcomed the
Southeast Corridor Constructors, led by Kiewit
Series 2001A bonds Construction Company of Omaha,Nebraska,to the
Date Closed April 17, 2001 project team. The Southeast Corridor constructors
Bond Proceeds $539,234,262 committed to complete the design and construction of
True Interest Cost 4.58% highway and light rail improvements 22 months ahead
Average Coupon 5.32% of the project's original schedule. Construction will
Number of Projects Accelerated with be completed in August 2006, with light rail passenger
Bond Proceeds 6 projects+the first
service starting by the end of that year. Southeast
two years of the
T-Rex project Corridor Constructor's cost is $1.186 billion three
continued on page 5
Statewide Planning News 4
TREX Evolution Begins, continued from page 4
percent less than the established "price" of$1.225 billion. There
T-REX Improvements was a$186 million difference between the selected and the non-
selected teams.
The massive T-REX project
improvements include: "This was a difficult decision since both proposals well exceeded
our requirements," said Tom Norton, CDOT executive director.
• Adding light rail transit from "We are confident that the Southeast Corridor Constructors are
Broadway to Lincoln Avenue in going to give us the best value."
Douglas County along 1-25 and
from 1-25 to Parker Road in Parsons Transportation Group joins Kiewit on the team as a joint
Aurora along 1-225 venture partner. A number of other subcontractors and
subconsultants, including DMJM-HARRIS, HNTB Corporation,
• Adding and improving accelera- Turner Collie & Braden, Sverdrup Civil, Inc., Kleinfelder, Inc. and
tion/deceleration lanes on 1-25 Terracon will, unify to meet the challenges of this monumental
to help reduce conflicts be- project.
tween ramp traffic and through
traffic The New Transportation System
A great deal of activity will be taking place both behind the scenes
• Four through lanes in each and in the community this summer before construction begins this
direction on 1-25 from Logan fall. The T-REX project team will be relocated to a centralized
Street to 1-225, and between 1- project office, the contractor group will develop a detailed project
25 and Parker Road on 1-225 schedule and begin detailed design, and they will expand the public
information process. Southeast Corridor Constructors will also
• Five through lanes in each build the Interim Traffic Management Center and the Traffic Flow
direction on I-25 between 1-225 Information System. These tools will speed coordinated responses
and C470/E470 to any emergency incidents and help motorists select their best
routes.
• Improving inside and outside
shoulders on 1-25 May signaled the start of something big for T-REX. But it's just
the first big step of the transportation evolution as the aging trans-
• Reconstructing drainage system portation dinosaur evolves into a modern, efficient system connect-
on 1-25 ing the two largest commercial and employment centers in the
region- Denver's downtown Central Business District and the
• Complete reconstruction of the Denver Technological Center. •
1-25 /1-225 interchange and
partial reconstruction of inter-
changes at Colorado Boulevard, mo
Evans Avenue, Belleview
Avenue, and Arapahoe Road '411ror/'10,• Complete reconstruction of the Is..
,
University Boulevard inter- �'
change and interchanges
between Logan Street and �' OB
Downing Street
• Improving lane balance and
merging of freeway lanes on I-
25 between 1-225 and C-470 • �f�i� p
Statewide Planning News 5
In Brief continued from page 3
Eastern Colorado Mobility Study and Ports to Highway Administration will make a recommendation
Plains Route Designation— to Congress for the states involved with the corridor.
CDOT has undertaken a study to analyze mobility in The Colorado Transportation Commission will be
eastern Colorado. The study area includes the entire discussing the designation at it's regular July meeting,
eastern half of the state, from 1-25 east to the Kansas, and is expected to issue a resolution supporting the
Wyoming and New Mexico borders. The study will "N-4" (US 287/US 385)route at that time.
look at traffic patterns, safety issues, and freight
movement in order to help the Transportation Com- Then, on July 30, the Transportation Commission will
mission and Regional Planning Commissions deter- meet with representatives from the other states in-
mine what types of improvements could be made to volved (Oklahoma,New Mexico and Texas) and
facilitate the movement of people and goods. FHWA to gain unified consensus of the states for the
route choice.
The Transportation Commission will also utilize study
findings to help determine which route(or routes) If you would like more information regarding the
should be designated as part of the federal Ports to study, or would like to have a presentation made to
Plains corridor. That corridor starts in southern Texas your local group or organization,please contact
and runs north to Denver. The precise route is yet to Randy Grauberger, Project Manager, CDOT,
be determined, although a unified consensus will have 303 757-9756.
to be reached by fall, 2001. Otherwise, the Federal
Statewide Planning News is produced by CDOT's Division of Transportation Development, Statewide
Planning Section. Any questions about articles herein, unless otherwise noted, should be directed to:
Jamie Collins at the address below OR
Phone: (303) 757-9814 Fax: (303) 757-9727
E-mail: jamie.d.collins@dot.state.co.us Web page: http://www.dot.state.co.us
l OT PRESRT STD
U.S. Postage
OE➢iil WM Of INn ort*rArial PAID
Denver, CO
Colorado Department of Transportation PERMIT 738
4201 East Arkansas Avenue, EP#B606
Denver, Colorado 80222
County Commission Chairman
Weld County
915 10th St
Greeley Co 80631-1117 15
Statewide Planning News 6
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