Denver's Regional Transportation District received proposals from four design and construction teams Sept. 23 for the North Metro project that will ultimately extend commuter rail north from Denver Union Station through Commerce City, Adams County, Thornton and Northglenn.

The four competing teams are Bechtel/Herzog joint venture; Graham, Balfour Beatty, Hamon Contractors; North Metro Transit Solutions, a Kiewit/Stacy and Witbeck joint venture; and URS Energy and Construction Inc.

The teams are responding to the request for proposals RTD released on June 28. Graham Contracting Ltd. first approached RTD in February with an unsolicited proposal. After reviewing the initial proposal, RTD staff determined it was consistent with the agency’s unsolicited proposals policy and worthy of moving forward to a competitive procurement process.

A multi-tiered evaluation committee will review the four proposals and make a recommendation on the most qualified bidder to the RTD Board of Directors at the Nov. 5 FasTracks Monitoring Committee meeting. The board is scheduled to take formal action on the contract award at its Nov. 26 regular board meeting.

“We look forward to reviewing the proposals for competitive pricing and innovative ideas,” said RTD General Manager Phil Washington. “Our goal through this proposal process is not only to build the entire North Metro Line but also to determine if there are other parts of the program that can be built at this time. RTD remains committed to completing the entire FasTracks program as quickly as we can.”

Over the past couple of years, RTD has publicized the agency’s desire to seek out innovations to complete the FasTracks program as soon as possible, enhance the RTD customer experience and reduce the overall cost of RTD operations. In fact, both financial and technical innovation and creativity are some of the criteria on which the proposals will be judged.

“In January, RTD identified funding to complete construction of the line to 72nd Avenue. These new proposals potentially offer more progress toward the build-out of the entire North Metro Rail Line, and that’s exciting,” said North Metro Rail Line Project Manager Jim Starling. “We are moving one step closer to completing the FasTracks program. The next step is identifying which proposal shows us the best value and fit for RTD’s future.”

The North Metro project is an 18.5-mile commuter rail line from Denver Union Station through Denver, Adams County, Commerce City, Thornton and Northglenn, ending at Highway 7.  The design and construction of the rail line is scheduled to begin in 2014.