Phoenix, Mesa and Glendale, AZ: Valley Metro Light Rail

Valley Metro CEO Steve Banta attended the press conference. Banta said that Valley Metro did not assist with the study but that the study promotes public transportation.

“The total transit network, which is many modes working in concert, will help keep our young people in the region and support our local economy,” Banta said in a press release.

Valley Metro ridership has increased since it opened in 2008. February ridership of all Valley Metro operations in Phoenix was at 3,939,009, compared with February 2011, when ridership was at 3,577,855, according to Valley Metro’s monthly ridership reports.

It calls for the 11-mile West Rail Link to run near Interstate 10 from Tolleson into Phoenix.

From there, it would run along Interstate 17 and then Van Buren Street to an area near 18th Avenue, and then to Jefferson Street through the St. Matthew's neighborhood to connect to the current 19-mile rail downtown.

The extension is to be operating by 2021.

Regional transit officials must still work out details for funding the project.

Originally, Metro light rail and Phoenix transit officials proposed the route travel through the St. Matthew's neighborhood on Jefferson Street, which would cut through the neighborhood with homes that date to the early 1900s.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoe ... z1ug66th9o

Metro will hold a groundbreaking Wednesday to celebrate a new light rail segment that will link downtown Mesa to Tempe and Phoenix.

The 3.1-mile, $200 million extension will be the first new segment since Metro opened the 20-mile system in December 2008. While the transit system is seen as a catalyst for downtown Mesa, Metro anticipates Wednesday’s kickoff will draw people from across the Valley.

Train aficionados have already shown interest, but Metro spokeswoman Hillary Foose said a broader range of people are welcome.

ARIZONA's Maricopa Association of Governments has approved plans for the western extension of the Phoenix Valley Metro light rail line.


The 17.7km extension will link Phoenix city centre with the State Capitol area before terminating at a park and ride station at the junction of 79th Avenue and the I-10 West highway.

The next phase of the project involves an environmental assessment and preliminary design.

Construction is already underway on a 5km eastern extension of the line to Central Mesa, which is due to open in 2015.

Valley Metro's construction of the Northwest light-rail extension in Phoenix has been accelerated by seven years, agency officials announced yesterday.

The project, which involves extending the route along 19th Avenue from the current end-of-line north 3.2 miles to Dunlap Avenue, has been given the green light to accelerate completion from 2023 to 2015, Valley Metro officials said in a prepared statement.

Final design is under way and construction is slated to begin in early 2013, they said.

electricron wrote:

Zmapper wrote:$65 million a mile, for a light rail expansion in the median of existing streets? That is nearly double of what Denver will pay for the I-225 corridor, which has to cross multiple roads and rivers on grade-separated structures. What is the reason for the cost discrepancy?

The proximity of what's under city streets compared to freeways are the main reason. You could find every possible utility imaginable under the entire length of a city street that needs to be made compatible for light rail track electrical currents that you will not necessarily find under an entire length of a freeway median.

electricron wrote:

amtrakowitz wrote:No, that does not follow. Systems like Portland Streetcar have been installed for about $10 million per mile including rolling stock and maintenance facilities.

Portland's 66 feet long streetcars are no match in weight or size to Phoenix and Mesa's over 90 feet long light rail vehicles, which can be coupled together into a 4 vehicle train that's over 350 feet long. Extra size and weight requires a much stronger foundation, and therefore higher costs.

$15 million per mile to over $100 million per mile.
Seattle's new light rail system is by far the most expensive in the U.S. at $179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level.

Jeff Smith wrote:...http://www.progressiverailroading.com/p ... p?id=30391

Last week, Valley Metro’s board selected Valley Transit Constructors (VTC), a Kiewit Corp./Mass. Electric Construction Co. joint venture, to continue designing and building the 3.1-mile Central Mesa light-rail extension.

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The 3.1-mile, $200 million Central Mesa light-rail extension will travel through downtown Mesa, Ariz., to Mesa Drive. It includes four stations and an end-of-line park-and-ride...