DenverInfill Blog

Bus terminal walls are nearing completion.  The photo below shows the remaining portion of wall that is still under construction.

More recycled canopies are being put to use.  In the center of the next photo is a canopy that has been installed over the eventual passenger platform at the temporary Amtrak terminal.  You can see some of the 20th Street HOV lane overhead.  Since I took the photo, another canopy has been placed.

When the project is finished, you won’t see much of what makes the place run.  While it’s out in the open, here’s a sample of utility work that has been a major part of the project.

Please see our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for more photos.

As DenverInfill visitor, Adam, pointed out in his comment on Monday, canopies are being removed from the Amtrak passenger platforms behind Union Station.  The first photo below shows progress as of this morning.  The first of those canopies has been reinstalled as a cover over the sidewalk at the entrance to the temporary Amtrak terminal at 21st and Wewatta streets.  You can see it in the second photo (above the minivan).

More of the recycled canopies will eventually be installed over new platforms across Wewatta Street from the temporary terminal.  Familiar foundations for canopy support posts are visible in the following photo which I took from the edge of Wewatta Street  looking toward Union Station.

Speaking of canopies, frames for the mall shuttle canopies are being installed today.  In the first photo taken from the Millennium Bridge, the first frame stands alone.  Within an hour or so, three frames were in place as you can see in the second photo that I took from the eighth floor of Glass House.   As I write this at 1:00PM, all seven frames are in place.  The design is obviously different than the long canopy of the light rail station.  It appears from the foundation locations, that the newer canopies will cover the platform for the mall shuttle and another, smaller platform for the light rail.  You should be able to pick out the foundations in a V shape in the first photo.

One more news item for today.  As I mentioned in updates #34 and #38, rails will be welded before they are laid.  Here’s a photo taken through the construction fence of the welding operation currently in process behind Union Station. Notice the sparks near the ground to the left of the worker with the X on his orange vest.  Several rails are welded end-to-end and staged nearby.  You can see some of them in the foreground of the photo.

I expect to get an inside-the-fence look at the welding process next week when it moves to the light rail area next to the freight tracks.  During that photo session, I hope to learn more about the welding process and why rails are welded prior to installation.

Please see our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for more photos that I uploaded today.

I recently returned from an eight-day family visit in Florida and was surprised to see so much Union Station progress.  It seems that they can get stuff done without me.

First, almost all of the framework for the light rail passenger platform has been installed.  Below is an updated photo.  Less obvious in the photo than the framework is the new foundation work for the mall shuttle platform.  You can see five square foundations in a line slightly to the right of the center of the photo.  They appear to be identical to the light rail foundations.    Notice that the two station platforms will not be parallel to each other.  The light rail platform is parallel to the CML (freight tracks), and the mall shuttle platform conforms to the downtown street grid.

Second, there are several points of interest in the photo below.  The walls of the bus terminal appear to be at least 75% complete; the plenum wall is about 30% done; and some of the columns inside the bus terminal to the left of the photo-center are now concrete instead of rebar.  You have to wonder when they will place the first roof girder.  Should we have a contest to pick the date?

I noticed that a stack of rails has been staged at the project site.  Here’s a shot of them from a distance.  As I reported previously in Update #34, they will be welded end-to-end on site before they are installed.  Hmmm.  Another contest opportunity to guess the date of the first rail installation.

Starting this Saturday, October 16, you can participate in expert tours of the project.  Union Station Advocates will conduct the one-hour tours.  Simply show up a few minutes before 10:00 AM at the light rail arch on the Wynkoop side of Union Station and pay your 10 bucks.  First come, first served.  After October 16, tours will be biweekly.  See you there!

Please see our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for more photos.