A Message from the President | University of Colorado

A significant shovel full of earth

I had the pleasure of taking part in an important groundbreaking ceremony recently. On a bright, crisp day earlier this month I donned a ceremonial hard hat and wielded a silver shovel to join several of our partners to turn the first shovels of dirt on the FasTracks light rail line that will connect the existing line on Interstate 225 with the line to Denver International Airport that is under construction.

I have stressed the importance of transportation in the Denver metro area to the success of our campuses. The I-225 FasTracks line will run through the CU Anschutz Medical Campus on its way to the airport line, helping to address a critical transportation need. The campus is home to two hospitals that have recently expanded, Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Hospital. The Veterans Administration Medical Center adjacent to campus is under construction and is slated for completion in June 2014. The hospitals, together with our research and educational programs, bring some 25,000 people to campus each day. That number is projected to nearly double in a decade or so.

FasTracks will ease some of the already significant congestion at the campus. It will allow greater access for patients, visitors, faculty, staff and students when it is completed in 2014. We have been pleased to be part of a coalition furthering transportation solutions that includes the Regional Transportation District, Colorado Department of Transportation, City of Aurora and United Veterans Committee of Colorado.

With the I-225 project under way, we are also engaging with a coalition that is focusing on solutions along U.S. 36 between Denver and Boulder. I intend to keep the hard hat and shovel ready.

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