The American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials presents a weekly review of major transportation infrastructure events. Watch it here:
The Colorado Independent reports that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority estimates high-speed passenger rail service on dedicated tracks along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors will cost $22 billion and likely require up to 50-percent funding by Colorado taxpayers,.
Harry Dale, the authority’s chairman, Harry Dale, said the higher cost of building dedicated lines rather than using existing freight lines or right-of-ways makes long-term financial sense. The assessment in part of a $1.5 million feasibility study funded mostly by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
High-speed trains traveling in excess of 100 mph would command premium fares allowing for a model of $2 in fare revenue for every $1 of operational costs. That means a private company could operate a Colorado franchise at a profit, eliminating the need for annual operational subsidies, the study says.
The Summit County Citizens Voice reports that the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority is close to releasing a final version of its feasibility study for high-speed rail, which would run north-south along the Interstate 25 corridor between Fort Collins and Pueblo, and east-west along Interstate 70 between Eagle and Denver International Airport.
“There are a whole slew of alternatives that are feasible,” said Harry Dale, Clear Creek County commissioner and chairman of the authority.
The Denver Business Journal reports that Colorado will get $1.4 million in federal stimulus money to study integrating a high-speed, inter-city rail line with Denver’s FasTracks mass transit rail system, part of $8 billion in high-speed rail grants announced Thursday by President Barack Obama.
The money, in the form of two grants, will go to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Colorado will match the money, for a total of $2.8 million.
Go to the Denver Business Journal to see the entire article.
Bloomberg reports that California will get $2.3 billion and Florida $1.3 billion to help build high-speed passenger-train service, the biggest winners among 31 states sharing $8 billion in rail grants from the U.S. economic stimulus package.
Most of the grants will go toward developing or laying the groundwork for 13 new high-speed rail corridors across the country, the Obama administration said in a statement.
The funding, from the $787 billion stimulus plan approved last year, is one of a number of programs President Obama will lay out in coming weeks aimed at spurring jobs, the administration said.
Reuters reports that engineering company URS Corp sees plenty of opportunities for work next year as U.S. states seek to build high-speed rail lines with help from federal funds, and with a few big water projects on the way.
More broadly, $10 billion in federal stimulus money will be flowing to major infrastructure projects that URS could manage, compared with just $2 billion this year, the company said.
Last month 24 states applied for stimulus money earmarked for high-speed rail, and URS is already under contract for related work in California and Connecticut, the company said.
RSS