Central Platte Valley LTR

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

What is the Central Platte Valley Light Rail Extension?

Denver's growing number of sports and entertainment venues will soon be served by RTD's new transit project, the Central Platte Valley Light Rail Line. The 1.8-mile extension will connect the existing light rail line from approximately W. Colfax and 7th Street to Union Station. By largely following the existing Consolidated Main Line railroad, this extension will serve the western side of Auraria Campus, Invesco Field at Mile High, the Pepsi Center, Six Flags/Elitch Gardens, the 16th Street Mall Shuttle, Union Station, Coors Field and other attractions in the Lower Downtown area. This line will provide an important link to help metro area residents, visitors, and business customers access the Central Platte Valley area and Downtown Denver. Funding for the project is provided through a public/private partnership. Construction began in February 2001 and will be complete in April 2002.

Stations are under construction at the following locations:
(Click on each image below for a larger picture)
1) Auraria West Station: this station will serve the west side of the Auraria campus offering students, faculty, and staff more transportation alternatives by giving them the option of utilizing either the Central Corridor Light Rail, Central Platte Valley Light Rail, or several bus routes currently serving the campus. This extension offers more ways of connecting Auraria to Denver.	See larger picture
2) Invesco Field at Mile High Station: This station will allow Bronco fans alternatives to parking and traffic woes at Denver's newest sports facility. Sports fans can access the stadium via a walkway under I-25 to the stadium. BroncosRide bus service will also be available to fans throughout the Metro area.	See larger picture
3) Pepsi Center/Six Flags- Elitch Gardens Station: located between these two venues, which are connected by a pedestrian bridge, the light rail serves fans and thrillseekers alike without the headache and expense of congested streets and expensive parking.	See larger picture
4) Union Station: located behind Union Station with a connection via a pedestrian tunnel; this station will serve the recently extended 16th Street Mall, Lower Downtown Denver, and Coors Field.	See larger picture

The light rail will need to cross existing streets in many locations: the alleyway between 6th and 7th Streets, Curtis Street, 5th Street, Walnut Street, Wewatta Street (to be constructed), and 16th Street (to be constructed) at Union Station. The project will include safety considerations to help with impacts to the traffic in these areas. Specifically, these include street and traffic signal design changes in the vicinities of 5th and Walnut Streets and 16th and Wewatta Streets.

16th Street Mall Shuttle & Union Station by 2020 or earlier. This project will also include elements to complement the light rail service such as the 16th Street Mall Shuttle serving Market Street Station to Union Station to allow for transfers between light rail and the shuttle. This coordinated service improvement will allow for more convenient access to attractions in the Central Platte Valley and Lower Downtown.

16th Street Mall Shuttle RTD has acquired new buses to be used on the 16th Street Mall. These new buses are quieter and larger than the previous shuttle buses. The extension of the 16th Street Mall to Union Station serves to advance the development plans for converting Union Station into an intermodal station. Both Mall Shuttle buses and RTD Regional and Express Service buses operate along the extended mall between Market Street Station and Union Station.

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