DALLAS — Already $40 million over budget on its South Terminal Project, Denver International Airport must pay most of the $53 million still needed to bring passenger trains to the terminal, Denver District Court Judge Michael Mullins has ruled.
DIA claimed that the Regional Transportation District, which is building the commuter rail line to the airport, was responsible for the last segment of the project.
The work covered under the $53 million includes including excavation, roads, bridges, walls and doubling the length of the station platform to 800 feet.
Spokesmen for DIA and RTD said the dispute was not adversarial but more a matter of clarifying financial responsibilities.
DIA had appealed a ruling from a hearing officer who found that the airport was responsible for the bulk of the costs. DIA's South Terminal Project, which includes a hotel and the rail station, is already $40 million over budget.
The airport's appeal was based on a "fundamental misstating" of the officer's choice, Mullins wrote in his order.
RTD is building a 22.8-mile electrified commuter rail transit line between Union Station in downtown Denver and DIA.
RTD is building six stations on the commuter line that is scheduled to open in 2016. Construction began in August 2010.
The East Line is part of the larger, Eagle Public Private Partnership that includes the Gold Line and the first segment of the Northwest Rail Line. The entire Eagle P3 Project costs an estimated $2.2 billion.
