This is what the message sign at I-70 westbound and Ward Road was reading before noon today. FasTracks tunnel construction wrapped up early and the highway reopened 18 hours ahead of schedule despite the snowstorm.

Denver Transit Construction Group finished placing girders for a FasTracks light rail tunnel and repaving westbound Interstate 70 at Sixth Avenue on Sunday morning, and reopened the highway to traffic almost a day ahead of schedule despite the weekend snowstorm.

DTCG spokeswoman Kathy Berumen said “all went well” and the closure that had been scheduled to last until 5:30 Monday morning was lifted on Sunday morning.

Click on the headline at top or on “Read more” below to go to the full story, or see the video in full screen mode by clicking on the box with the four outward pointing arrows at the lower right of the screen above.

Day 2!! Inside Lane’s exclusive video tour of construction progress along RTD FasTracks’ 12-mile West Corridor light rail project continues with the Lakewood segment called Area 2 by the contractor, Denver Transit Construction Group.

Watch the six-minute video and be guided by Area 2 Engineer Joe Van Aelstyn, who explains the drainage work getting underway and the multiple bridge constructions at Wadsworth, Kipling and Sixth Avenue Freeway.

Area 2 goes from Sheridan Boulevard on the east to the Denver Federal Center on the west. See our earlier report from yesterday on Area 3, below, in Denver, and watch Inside Lane for the next installment, the tour of Area 1, the western segment out to Golden.

Click on the headline at top or on “Read more” below to go to the full story, or see the video in full screen mode by clicking on the box with the four outward pointing arrows at the lower right of the screen above.

While the planners and politicians debate how to proceed with the RTD FasTracks program’s many projects, heavy construction is well underway on the West Corridor light rail, the first FasTracks rail line to reach construction. Inside Lane went out on the 12-mile construction zone with the engineers in charge and is producing three video updates, one on each of the three construction areas laid out by the contractor.

Going from east to west, the first update presented here starts at the Auraria campus in downtown Denver, goes through the industrial area along Colfax Avenue, crosses the South Platte River and then goes up Lakewood Gulch and Dry Gulch to Sheridan Boulevard. Your guide for this segment is Ryan Espoy, Denver Transit Construction Group’s engineer for Area 3. He outlines some of the progress made to date, plans for construction in the upcoming fourth quarter, and some of the innovations and value-engineering choices that have led to some savings on the project. We’ll get a look at some of the major structures underway and the schedule for the immediate future.

FasTracks Denver Transit Construction Group Press Release

Denver Transit Construction Group, RTD’s contractor for the FasTracks West Corridor construction project, will close various lanes of Interstate 70 overnight and on weekends.

Friday, October 9 – Monday, October 19, 2009

• One eastbound lane of I-70 between the Colfax and C-470 exits will close at nightly at 6:00 pm and a second lane will close nightly at 8:00 pm with both lane closures in effect until 5:30 a.m. the following morning.

• The C-470 ramp to eastbound I-70 will be closed from 8:00 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly. Traffic will be rerouted to 6th Avenue.

• One eastbound lane of I-70 between the Colfax and C-470 exits will close from 5:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 10th and Sunday, October 11th

• Trucks over 30,000 pounds will be rerouted off of I-70 at Exit 254 (Genesee) then to U.S. 40 east.

Tuesday, October 13 – Wednesday, October 14, 2009

• One westbound lane of I-70 between the Colfax and 6th Avenue exits will close nightly at 6:00 pm and a second lane will close nightly at 8:00 pm with both lane closures in effect until 5:30 a.m. the following morning.

Friday, October 16 – Monday, October 19, 2009

• All eastbound lanes of traffic on I-70 between the C-470 and Colfax Avenue exits will be closed the weekend of Friday October 16th through Monday, October 19th. The EB I-70 full closure will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, October 16th with all eastbound lanes of traffic reopening at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, October 19th.

• The C-470 ramp to eastbound I-70 will be closed the weekend of Friday October 16th through Monday, October 19th. The full closure will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, October 16th with all lanes reopening at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, October 19th.

• Truckers over 30,000 pounds will be rerouted off of I-70 at Exit 254 (Genesee) then to U.S. 40 east. Traveling motorists will be rerouted off of I-70 at Exit 261 (6th Avenue) then to I-25 north back to I-70.

• Be advised that all construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change. For complete up-to-date information on upcoming construction activities, access the Construction Information Page for the West Corridor on the Web at www.RTD-Fastracks.com, or call 299-2000 for pre-recorded information 24 hours a day. To speak to someone about construction activities, please call 720-989-8099.

These photos of construction along the 12.1-mile West Corridor light rail project were taken on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Click on the headline above to go to a bigger screen.

View a slide show of construction updates along RTD FasTracks’ West Corridor.

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.

A dump truck driver intends to put his children through college with his earnings from the new FasTracks project, CBS4 Denver reports.

“I’m really like a one man show,” says Matthew Antoine.

Building the West Corridor, from Denver to Golden, means moving a lot of dirt. Antoine, an African American resident of Aurora, typifies the dump truck drivers hired to do the job under a program by the West Corridor contractor to subdivide the trucking work so small companies can do it.
All are minorities with small, mom and pop operations. It’s just a fair way to level the playing field in a rough economy.

“Work is slow right now and this is going to help a lot of people out,” explains the Dispatch Manager for Denver Transit Construction Group, Tom Holfert.

Read the entire article at CBS4 Denver.

Denver Transit Construction Group, the West Corridor light rail construction contractor, and the Regional Transportation District will be donating used refrigerators and stoves to the Habitat for Humanity Home Improvement Outlet stores.

The appliances were left in the apartment buildings that RTD acquired for the West Corridor light rail station and parking structure near 10th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.

“RTD and DTCG are pleased to be able to put these appliances to good use, while helping a great organization like Habitat for Humanity,” said Jon Brazeal, Project Engineer for DTCG. Volunteers from all three organizations will be loading the appliances on trucks to take to the Denver and Wheat Ridge Habitat for Humanity stores on Saturday, September 19 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. For more information contact Kathy Berumen at 303-626-6762.