The Colorado Department of Transportation announced Tuesday the winner of a contract to expand Interstates 25 and 225 and construct a 19-mile light-rail line in the southeast metro area.

T-REX EFFECTS

One Family Is Not Happy With T-REX

The Kiewit Construction Company and Parson Transportation Group, which formed the partnership Southeast Corridor Constructors, beat out Valley Corridor Constructors for the massive seven-year construction project known as T-REX. Transportation officials told 7NEWS that although Southeast Corridor Constructors had a lower bid of $1.186 billion, it wasn't the money that swayed them, it was the company's promise to minimize inconvenience to motorists by finishing the project 22 months ahead of schedule. When work begins in the fall, T-REX will impact the lives of tens of thousands of commuters, and become Colorado's largest public works project since the construction of Denver International Airport. Funded without any new or increased taxes, the project will construct light rail, along I-25 from Broadway in Denver to Lincoln Avenue in Douglas County and I-225 from Parker Road in Aurora to a newly configured I-25 interchange. It also includes reconstruction of interchanges and bridges, a new drainage system and improved pedestrian and bicycle access. The southeast corridor was renamed T-REX last week to give the highway project personality and to convey the size and scope of the impact. Kiewit is headquartered in Omaha, but has maintained a Denver presence for about 50 years, calling themselves Kiewit Western. Kiewit formed a joint partnership with Parson Transportation Group specifically to bid for the T-REX project, 7NEWS reported. Kiewit's most recent big project was the reconstruction of I-15 through Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics. It's was a $1.35 billion project which included rebuilding 17 miles of freeway and 142 bridges, according to 7NEWS. In Colorado, Kiewit helped build the 29-mile E-470 toll road. Kiewit is one of three contractors who have partnered to build a portion of Boston's Big Dig, which is a $14 billion project to build tunnels and elevated interstate and highways in and around Boston.

Residents, Officials Worried About Impact

People who live and work along I-25 were not looking forward to the impending bottleneck. "One of the worries that I have is that capacity will be built up in the south, creating a bottleneck as you come into Denver, thereby creating enormous incentive for people to peel off the highway and drive through our residential streets," Kathleen MacKenzie, representative of Denver Council District 7, said. "I can see Downing (Street) getting really busy from people just trying to exit the highway and avoid all the construction," Katie Dicus, who works at the University of Denver, said. "We're going to have to have about five years of inconvenience to have a better transportation future for Colorado," Gov. Bill Owens said. Shari Janata and her husband own a house just west of I-25. Janata said that their property is about to be trampled by T-REX. "We've lived here 17 years and now we lose it all, and we don't have a say," Janata said. She's talking about a 25-foot wide stretch of lawn, several tall trees and a horseshoe pit that will soon go the way of the dinosaur, 7NEWS reporter Hendrik Sybrandy said. Janata said that what really bugs her is that she doesn't know when the project will begin. "The unknown is driving us up a wall," she said. Janata said that she wishes that contractors would give her a timetable, and build her a 20-foot wall that would at least make T-REX somewhat bearable from now until 2006. "Name it a cute name and it's going to go away? I don't think so," she said. Additional Resources:

• T-REX Web Site
• Current Traffic and Road Conditions