I-70 High Speed Train Study May Provide Answers
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- The Colorado Department of Transportation is commissioning a study to determine the feasibility of a high speed train to the mountains.
Summit County Commissioner Dan Gibbs said there are many unanswered questions about the mass transit option.
"If it's built are people actually going to use it? And how are we going to pay for it?" asked Gibbs.
The $1.8 million study will get under way in early 2012.
"It's an 18-month project to look at what is feasible, where the stops would be and how much it would cost," said Gibbs.
Early estimates predict a high speed train would cost $20 billion. That's money the state doesn't have, but some speculate the project could become a reality with help from the federal government.
"We need to make improvements for current infrastructure. Widening in places but also looking at some type of mass transit solution," said Gibbs.
The train could bring riders from Denver International Airport all the way to Summit or Eagle County without getting caught in all the traffic on Interstate 70.
"Whether or not we have a train, we need to continue making improvements," said Gibbs.
Summit County plans to launch its own study that would examine local transportation systems and how they could tie into high speed rail service.
