It has been a while since our last East Rail Line update and a lot of progress has been made between Denver Union Station and Denver International Airport. In this post I will focus on the area around DIA where some of the most noticeable changes have occurred. Starting at the airport; the foundation, first level and two main piers of the South Terminal building have gone vertical. These two main piers will become the main structural components of the Westin Hotel and East Rail Line Terminus; Airport Station.
To either side of the South Terminal Redevelopment Project, construction of the bridges and ramps that will support the automobile and bus entrances and exits are also progressing. The east side bridge has been on hold as foundation work is underway below, but the bridges on the west side are nearing completion.
At the southern end of the construction site (below) is where the East Rail Line platform will soon be. Currently we can see the concrete forms that will become the foundation where the trains will arrive and depart from.
In the next few months we should see more levels of the South Terminal Redevelopment project completed, girders and decking installed for the five entry and exit ramps as well as the installation of the iconic canopy frame. For those of you interested in following the Denver International Airport South Terminal Redevelopment construction without going out to the airport, check out the new construction webcam set up above this area, as well as refer back to the construction sequence video posted by Ken back in February.
After leaving the airport, the approach to the first bridge, which spans a drainage swell, is complete and the adjacent bridge, which spans the airport automobile exit, is nearly complete with just a few last piers and girders to go.
Between the western runway and 79th Avenue (Rental Car Row) is the right-of-way where the East Rail Line will travel. In this area, crews are currently installing the Overhead Cantenary System (OCS) piers, the poles that will hold the electrical and communication cables, and compacting the ground in preparation for railroad tracks and ties.
The second major development along this segment is that the final girder for the bridge over Peña Boulevard is in place! The 1,953-foot bridge is one of the largest bridges along this line and has been in the works since last fall.
Since this bridge spans one of the busiest roadways in the the Denver area, Peña Boulevard, Denver Transit Partners has scheduled a number of overnight girder installations this spring where crews close Peña Boulevard down to a single lane and work into the early morning. Below is a link to a cool time-lapse video of the final girder being installed last weekend.
Girder Installation over Pena Blvd
In my next post I will report on the progress made between Tower Road and Peoria Crossing.
I did not realize that Denver’s commuter rail will be electrified. That’s very interesting because there are no electrified commuter railroads in the west and only 3-4 in the whole country.
Yep. East Rail, Gold Line Rail, the initial part of Northwest Rail (the part which is actually funded and being built), and North Metro Rail (including the unfunded parts) are all going to be electrified.
East and Gold Line will open in 2016 and will be the only electrified “commuter rail” west of the Mississippi.
The other electrified “commuter rail” in the US are: part of Chicago’s Metra, and all of the South Shore Line in Indiana; part of NJ Transit; part of Metro-North in the NYC area; part of the LIRR in the NYC area; all of SEPTA in Philadelphia; part of MARC in Maryland.
“Commuter rail” is a somewhat arbitrary distinction, as there are other electrified urban rail systems. Even so, there aren’t that many electrifed urban rail systems west of the Mississippi; there are currently none at all west of the Missouri, east of the Rockies, and north of Texas.
Thanks for the update Robert. One question for you; How is the hotel and rail terminal construction progressing on a time basis, are there any expectations of an early or late finish, or is 2016 still a reasonable goal?
Matt… Seems I recall seeing that they intend to be finished in 2015 but don’t recall if that was just the train terminal or what all.
Interesting. 2015 is probably just the airport project.
RTD says the East Rail Line, Gold Line, and I-225 line will open in 2016 (they don’t say *when* in 2016). Apparently they are all running on schedule or ahead of schedule so far, but I don’t know whether that means they’ll actually open ahead of time.
Matt,
What I have heard is that the hotel, rail line and station are on target for a 2015 completion. The hotel would be open in 2015 however the rail line and station will run for a couple of months closed to the public in order to work out any issues with engineering and scheduling.
This is GREAT! Thank you Robert!
That second picture is awesome because it allows you to clearly see the way each of the four floors in the base of the new structure will be used. On the second floor you can see how the baggage/airport support floors will connect, and on the fifth where the train to the concourses will be extended into the new TSA screening facility. It is also interesting that the elevators skip the third floor and that it has no connection to the existing terminal. Am I correct in remembering that this floor is going to be the hotel conference facility? This is getting exciting!
Thank you! and great observation about the elevator skipping the third floor.
An explanation of each floor for those interested:
Level 1 – Train hall with central escalator directly to Level 5 plaza and escalators to/from Level 4 along the south curtain wall. Westin hotel lobby and porte-cochere on the west side; loading dock and bldg. maintenance functions on the east side
Level 2 – Westin conference center with meeting rooms, banquet rooms, 2 story ballroom and kitchen with a large 2 story prefunction space along the south curtain wall overlooking the train platform. Escalators to/from Level 1 lobby and to/from Level 5. Also hotel offices and employee locker room/cafeteria.
Level 3 – AGTS tunnels will be extended but there won’t be a new stop, just added storage capacity for additional trains. Mechanical space.
Level 4 – New security checkpoint and TSA offices. Escalators to/from Level 1. Secure passageway from security into the terminal where you’ll board the AGTS to the concourses.
Level 5 – Landscaped plaza between the terminal and hotel. Central escalator to/from Level 1 train hall. Hotel entrance. Westin restaurant with outdoor seating and coffee shop on the east side. Future space for another restaurant and retail shop on the west side.
Level 6 – Westin sky lobby with a large bar overlooking the plaza and rail platform; guestrooms on the east and west sides
Levels 7-14 – Westin guestrooms and suites with a pool/spa & fitness center on the 11th floor
Interesting about the AGTS. I wonder if the purpose of the extension is to allow the trains to connect to the future terminal (long term plan) to the south of the new hotel?
I don’t know if this has already been asked, but are there plans to build an entrance ramp from Tower Rd. south onto Peña Blvd included anywhere in this project?
Is the bridge built to accommodate two tracks or is it single track? It looked single track to me when I went under it the other day.