Here we go again. Digging the second half of the bus terminal has began this morning. Here is a photo of a familiar sight: a line of dump trucks, an excavator, and a bulldozer. As you can see in the photo, Kiewit started digging next to the historic station and will work toward the existing section of the terminal.
Also in the photo above, you can see that work has begun on removal of the canopy that is attached to the back of Union Station. The canopy offered protection for passengers waiting for buses that departed downtown via the HOV lane to Interstate 25.
In other news, the Traction Power Sub Station (TPSS) is being moved today to a new spot near the Union Gateway Bridge from underneath the Millennium Bridge. I know little about the function of the TPSS. But I do know that it has something to do with controlling movements of the light rail trains. The first of the following two photos shows where it was located on the concrete foundation that is barely visible under the bridge. The second photo shows it being hauled away on a flat bed trailer. It looks a bit like a big camper trailer.
Later this morning, I will get some street-level photos of today’s activities and post them to our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com.
This has nothing to do with union station, but, I was walking down 16th this morning and 14th yesterday…I love the new big screens, but how great would it be if they showed some occassional breaking news or even the nuggets game last night? Wouldn’t people take more of an interest and at least stop and watch for a bit? I would…
Great idea! I vote for Rockies highlights.
Thanks for yet another great update, Rick. So exciting that excavation is getting under way for the second half of the terminal!
In case anyone is curious, the Traction Power Substation is what takes power from the utility company and translates it into a form that can be fed through the overhead catenary wire and into the trains. If I remember correctly, RTD uses DC power for the light rail system, so the TPSS rectifies the incoming AC power into DC current. They’re moving it to make room for the light rail tracks that will go under the Millennium Bridge and to the new light rail platform.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_substation