The Regional Transportation District received two competitive proposals in mid-June for the I-225 Light Rail Project.

The competing teams are Balfour Beatty Ames Joint Venture, which includes Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Markets; and  Kiewit Infrastructure Co., which includes Mass. Electric Construction Co., AECOM, and RBC Capital Markets.

The teams submitted proposals as part of RTD’s request for proposals process. Kiewit first approached RTD earlier this spring 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.

RTD will review the two proposals and make a recommendation of the most qualified bidder to the RTD board at the FasTracks Monitoring Committee meeting July 3. The board would then take formal action on the contract award at the July 17 RTD Board meeting.

“Both teams have a successful history of constructing projects for RTD and other major rail projects throughout the country,” said RTD General Manager Phil Washington. “It is encouraging that the industry is responding to RTD’s call to implement innovation to complete FasTracks projects sooner rather than later.”

Over the past year, 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 cost of RTD operations. This was the premise behind RTD’s first industry forum called Transformation Through Transportation, which was held Sept. 27.

Construction on the first segment of the I-225 line from Parker Road to Iliff began in May under a contract through a partnership with the Colorado Dept. of Transportation as CDOT constructs highway improvements in that area.