2012 Annual Program Evaluation

Every year RTD staff conducts an Annual Program Evaluation (APE) to review the financial picture of the FasTracks program. The APE is an opportunity to take into account current market conditions and changes in the economy and allows the team to proactively manage these changes. On Jan. 17 the RTD staff presented the 2012 Annual Program Evaluation to the RTD Board of Directors.

2012 FasTracks Program Evaluation
The current FasTracks Financial Plan assumes a .4 percent sales and use tax increase following a successful election in 2012. With that assumption, the capital cost to implement the program by 2024 is $7.8 billion, an increase of $968.3 million from last year's APE. Eighty-five percent of this increase is due to updated Northwest (NW) Rail Line costs.

Following additional cost information from the BNSF Railway, the cost estimate for segment two of the Northwest Rail Line from Westminster to Longmont has increased to $1.7 billion in year of expenditure (YOE) dollars. The increase is based on additional right-of-way acquisition and vehicles, further environmental mitigation and utility relocations, and a one-time upfront capital cost for the operating easement (previously assumed by RTD to be an annual Operation & Maintenance cost). Following concerns by stakeholders due to the increase costs of NW Rail, RTD staff developed three options for RTD Board consideration:

•  Option One: Delay completion of NW Rail 3-5 years to meet RTD's cash flow, which would extend the completion date for the NW Rail Line from 2020 to 2024.
• All other FasTracks projects stay on track to be completed by 2020.
• Option Two: Delay completion of NW Rail to 2024, but accelerate select capital projects and increase funding for bus service in the interim. 
• This delays all other partially funded corridors by approximately six months.
•  Option Three: Remove NW Rail Line from the FasTracks plan and commit remaining NW Rail Line project funds, capped at $894.6 million, to expanded Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the northwest service area.
•  Before an exact alignment could be established, RTD and CDOT would be required to conduct an Environmental Assessment/Environmental Impact Statement for any additional segments of BRT outside of the US 36 BRT corridor that include state highways.
  

The RTD Board directed staff to perform technical/financial analyses for NW Rail Line options two and three and return with additional information on March 6. The Board will decide on March 8 which NW Rail Line option to move forward with. The deadline for stakeholder feedback on the Northwest Rail options is March 1. Board approval of the 2012 FasTracks Financial Plan and Annual SB 208 Report to DRCOG is planned for March 27, which will also serve as direction from the Board on whether to pursue a .4 percent sales tax increase ballot initiative in November 2012.  DRCOG approval of the SB 208 is anticipated in June.


To see the full presentation click here.

If you would like to comment on the options for the Northwest Rail project click here.

For more detail on the Northwest Rail cost increases, click here.