West Corridor light rail on track after tragedy
By Kevin Flynn 
| August 13, 2009 | 8:52 AM
He walked the entire 12-plus miles of the light rail corridor he was getting set to build.
He got to know it from his motorcycle, taking frequent rides to stay close-up familiar with what was going on.
He set out the work sequence and formed partnerships with the designers, builders and community stakeholders on the very first new FasTracks rail corridor being built by the Regional Transportation District.
So when Dennis Cole died June 26 after suffering a massive stroke, there was a gaping hole in the management of the West Corridor light rail project. Cole was RTD’s project manager for the corridor that runs through Denver, Lakewood and Golden.
His death came one week after he issued the Notice to Proceed to the builder of the project, Denver Transit Construction Group. That was the milestone that opened the gates to full construction – DTCG had already started on some early items broken out to get a head start. DTCG is a joint venture of Herzog Corp. of St. Joseph, Mo., and Stacy & Witbeck Inc. of Alameda, California.
Into the gap now comes Jim Starling, a longtime colleague and friend of Cole’s who up until last month was the engineering project manager for the FasTracks North Metro commuter rail corridor serving Commerce City and Thornton.
Read the full story at Kevin Flynn’s Inside-Lane.
dennis cole, jim starling, light rail, transportation, west corridor
