Computer simulation showing some of Lakewood's proposed enhancements to the FasTracks West Corridor Wadsworth bridge and station.

The fate of Lakewood’s plans to make a signature statement with upgraded urban design features at the West Corridor light rail Wadsworth Station rests in the hands of cost estimators who will soon put a price tag on the translucent canopy, enhanced lighting and other things the city wants.

Lakewood has set a budget of $2.6 million for the so-called “betterments” to the Wadsworth light rail station, which will be atop the bridge at 13th Avenue, in an effort to take RTD’s bare bones utilitarian station design and make the structure an iconic city gateway.

Read Lakewood’s “betterment” plans for Wadsworth, as well as the West Corridor’s Oak Street Station, here. The plan at Oak Street, though mush less ambitious, is budgeted at $200,000.

Lakewood would pay RTD to add the things the city wants; RTD would then incorporate them via a change order to its contract with Denver Transit Construction Group, the general contractor for the 12.1-mile light rail line now under construction.

But to do that, DTCG first must price the city’s proposal, and let RTD and Lakewood negotiate the final product.

Light rail will cross Wadsworth on a bridge, and the station stop itself will be on the bridge above the street. RTD is building the stairs, elevators and the station platform, along with basic shelters, benches and other items. But because RTD’s budget is pushed to the max to build the project’s essentials, the design of the Wadsworth bridge and station is basic meat and potatoes.

Click here to see an elevation of the bare-bones RTD design for the Wadsworth bridge and station.

Click here to see the site plan as viewed from above the bridge. Note there is a bike trail included on the north side of the bridge; the light rail tracks flank the center-loading passenger platform in the middle of the bridge.

And click here to see a site plan for the street-level pedestrian plazas on the east and west sides of Wadsworth under the bridge. “TPSS 55″ on the west side is a high-voltage “traction power substation” feeding electricity to the overhead wires powering the light rail trains.

The city’s alternative design, drawn up by klipp architecture, includes a 330-foot translucent canopy, meant to invoke the cloud formations that often line the Rocky Mountain backdrop to the west. It would be lit from below to make it visible at night.

View a slideshow of construction progress on the Wadsworth light rail bridge:

To expand to full screen and read the captions, first click on the “play” button and then click on the box that will appear at the lower right corner — with the four little arrows pointing outward. When the full screen appears, click on “Show Info” at the menu bar on the top right.

RTD’s FasTracks program has been plagued by budget gaps since it was formulated in 2004, mostly through an unprecedented spike worldwide in construction materials and costs that hit in the first several years. Lakewood’s plans, however, were developed after the bulk of those cost increases already occurred – in fact, some construction commodities have fallen in price since the high levels hit in 2006 and 2007.

Becky Clark, director of the Lakewood Reinvestment Authority, said she would like to have an agreement in place with RTD by the end of next month. The LRA intends to pay for the additions through bonds payable through tax-increment financing – using the new tax revenue generated by development surrounding the station area.

If costs have increased to an extent that the contractor cannot build everything Lakewood wants for its $2.8 million budget, Clark said the city will negotiate how much can be built.

Clark said the mission is to brand the bridge with a unique identity, similar to how the Belmar area has branded itself.

“We want to enhance the quality of the place-making features at Wadsworth so it doesn’t just look like every other station on the line,” Clark said.

Six of the West Corridor’s 12 stations are within Lakewood city limits and a seventh, at Sheridan, is effectively shared with Denver. But Wadsworth is the first major station in Lakewood when headed west from Denver. There is a walk-up station without parking at 13th Avenue and Lamar Street, but at Wadsworth there will be a 1,000-vehicle parking garage.

It is important for the city and RTD to reach agreement soon because Wadsworth bridge construction is well underway. DTCG has hired Edward Kraemer & Sons, whose Colorado regional office is in Castle Rock, to build the structure.

The abutment and pier assembly on the east side of Wadsworth are already out of the ground, and excavation and footings are underway on the west side of the street along 13th Avenue for the bridge supports there. As a result, 13th Avenue is closed to traffic in the blocks in both directions directly off Wadsworth.

Construction is expected to take a year, with girders being set across Wadsworth early in 2010. Because of the 25-foot height of the bridge and the topography of the approaches on Wadsworth – traffic from the south is headed slightly uphill toward the bridge from crossing Dry Gulch near 10th Avenue – the large structure will dominate the scene.

The bridge will be 400 feet long from end to end, using three spans including a 160-foot center span that will clear Wadsworth without any center supports in the street. Two side spans over the sidewalks will each be 120 feet long.

The prominence of the bridge and station is one of the reasons Lakewood wants to dress it up to create a “unique identity” for the city.

Planning for this began more than four years ago.

“RTD presented Lakewood city staff with conceptual drawings of the planned station designs along the West Corridor in 2005,” notes a Lakewood staff report from 2008. “After reviewing the drawings, city staff believed that the stations were not up to the design potential that is prescribed for those areas. RTD’s budget is limited and only allows it to construct very basic light rail stations which do not reflect the uniqueness of Lakewood.

“RTD is willing to include enhancements, termed ‘betterments’ by RTD, in the design of its light rail stations if the City is willing to bear the cost of the betterments.”

In addition to the 330-foot canopy over the pedestrian area of the station – made up of 38 panels covering 3,600 square feet, there would be glass elevators at either end of the bridge, both also lighted for an open and transparent look.

Windscreens, railings, guard rails and enhanced lighting are also elements of the city’s design.

Computer simulation of Lakewood's proposed canopy over the Wadsworth light rail station.

Another view of the city's proposed enhancements to the Wadsworth bridge.