Value Engineering

Final VE recommendations are now available
In mid-December 2006, a team of nine technical experts from around the country came to Denver to participate in a week-long intensive review of the West Corridor project.  This Value Engineering (VE) process is used on may large projects throughout the country and is a requirement of the Federal Transit Administration for all projects applying for federal funding.  The goal is for the VE team to recommend more efficient and cost effective methods for the project to be built.  The VE team recommended 61 different changes.  In addition, 15 items were recommended by staff.  Each item was assigned a preliminary status of either accept, accept with modifications, table for further study or reject.  The recommendations and status of each was presented to the stakeholders, elected officials and the public in January for comment.  VE recommendations were categorized as follows: Denver, Lakewood, Jeffco-Golden, General and Rejected. Final recommendations on each VE item based on stakeholder and public comment, constructability, cost savings, re-design costs, environmental consequences, safety and operational impacts will be presented to the RTD Board of Directors for approval in May 2007. A Public Comment Overview, Public Comments and Stakeholder comments are available for review. These final recommendations will be given to the RTD Board of Directors for action.

Recommended VE items (for May 15 board meeting)
Of the potential 83 VE items, 41 are recommended for acceptance, 36 of these items were presented to the RTD Board of Directors at the May 15, 2007 board meeting. 
Concluded VE items (at June board meeting)
Auraria Station, Drainage improvements west of Federal, Sheridan Station

Build Privacy Fences on property lines in lieu of Noise Walls
This VE proposal offers a choice to property owners along the alignment who have a noise impact from the train, to have RTD build a 6' wooden privacy fence on their property line, instead of the concrete noise barrier along the light rail tracks.  The ongoing maintenance for the wooden fences would be the property owners responsibility.  The City of Lakewood doesn't currently allow privacy fences along the front of properties, so unless Lakewood codes were changed, only properties with the side or rear of their property facing the alignment would be eligible for this option.  This would require the "Change in Noise Barriers" (Opt-out) policy to be implemented.

Sheridan Station

Single Track between Denver Federal Center and the Jeffco Govt Center-
Instead of building two tracks, one for trains in each direction, we will build just one track in the western portion of the alignment.  There will still be two tracks at the stations where trains can pass each other.  Trains are scheduled to run every 15 minutes in each direction and the single track won't affect this timing.  The savings from this item not only comes from less track and electrical wires overhead, but from being able to build the bridge structure over 6th Avenue shorter and narrower.  There is also a savings in the tunneling under I-70 and reduced walls. 

Change in Drainage Criteria