RTD's L Line may get safety upgrades after accidents

Part of the RTD L line may be shut down for nearly two months next year to undergo proposed safety upgrades. That closure would go from the 20th and Welton station north to the 30th and Downing station. 

A $5.27 million safety upgrade to that line is on the table at Tuesday's RTD board meeting. 

"That would be adding some automatic warning signals and some other things to manage traffic near the trains," said RTD Project Manager, Pauline Haberman. 

The proposed project would align and guide traffic across rail crossings along Welton street. 

"They will alert cars to when a train is coming," said Haberman, "it's also useful for pedestrians who will be walking along Welton." 

This area of the L line has experienced the most accidents of any stretch in the light rail system, according to RTD. If approved, the upgrades would cause an 8-week partial closure of the L line in the spring of 2023. 

"Just the Welton street portions and that would be between 20th and 30th avenues," said Haberman, "they're going to have to power down the line in that portion in order to install the signal systems." 

Light rail riders say the closure will be an inconvenience. 

"I would just probably have to find a new way to school, which would either be like Lyfts that are expensive or buses which take longer," said Metro student Leandra Marin. 

There will not be a replacement bus, but RTD says the existing bus route 43 offers parallel service. 

Funding for the project is allocated in this year's budget, including a federal safety grant of $1.5 million. Tuesday night, the RTD board is meeting to discuss final approval. Up until now, it's had unanimous support.