CDOT US 6 Bridges Design Build Project
FEDERAL BRIDGE View of Federal Bridge Looking East
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U.S. Marshals seek help in locating wanted sex offender
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View South along Federal Boulevard Crossing US 6
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The U.S. Marshals Service is seeking the assistance of the public to help locate a federally convicted sex offender, Eric Hartwell.
View of Federal Bridge Looking Eastbound from US 6
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NEWS
Bumpy road ahead for 6th Avenue reconstruction Aerial View of Federal Bridge Crossing US 6 Looking NE
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The $98M project will replace 6 obsolete bridges on U.S. 6 between Knox Court and I-25, improve traffic in I-25 and U.S. 6 interchange, and enhance driver safety.
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New club stands by its guns The Centennial Gun Club at 11800 E. Peakview Ave. has been newly expanded and boasts nearly 30 shooting lanes, a VIP lounge and retail space.
DOT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FHU 12-005 09.09.2013
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50¢ D I S P A T C H
S i n c e 19 2 6 February 27, 2014
www.HDnewspaper.com
Vol. 93 No. 10
Main Street meets Bourbon
Littleton rolls out its annual Mardi Gras this weekend
Street
Proposed August 2010 light rail and at RTD transit m/ServiceChanges. By Peter Jones Greg Reinke still remembers the hard sell of convincing Littleton’s intimidating Mr. Romano into joining his offbeat plan to turn Downtown Littleton into a Mardi Gras carnival. “He looked at me and said, ‘Absolutely not,’ and got up and walked off,” Reinke recalled. Days later when the veteran restaurateur finally agreed to give it a try, he was none too thrilled. “Mr. Romano sat next to me and he goes, ‘If you hurt my business, we’re going to have a chat,’” Reinke said with a laugh. “Afterwards, he shook my hand and said, ‘That was really fun!’ This thing has become so popular for Romano’s. It’s one of their best weekends of the year.” For one weekend – and one weekend only – Reinke brings the Crescent City to Littleton. For 12 years, the Reinke Bros. owner and president of the Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants, has somehow talked 10 restaurants and bars, including the Romano’s Italian family institution and a nearby no-frills Irish pub, into doing something they would normally never do in their right minds – break format to host live music, sell Mardi Gras beads and cook up Cajun and Creole cuisine. “It’s good food, good music and good times,” Reinke said. This year, Littleton’s answer to Mardi Gras will be held this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1, on what has become known as Reinke’s fictional “Fat Friday” and
s not required to comment. You changes@RTD-Denver.com han June 7, 2010. Revelers celebrate Mardi Gras on Littleton’s Main Street.
“Fat Saturday.” “Nobody comes out on Fat Tuesday because everybody has to work on Ash Wednesday,” Reinke reasoned. This weekend, Romano’s will be serving its annual crawfish pasta, jambalaya and gumbo. Likewise, McKinner’s Pizza Bar
will offer Cajun pizza, Andouille sausage and black-bean soup. The Olde Town Tavern will bring back its catfish po’ boys, among other Southern-fried treats. And so on. “Merle’s will have a whole crawfish broil. They actually fly in live crawfish,” Reinke added. Even Ned Kelly’s, an Irish pub
not known for its food menu, will be offering barflies Cajun shrimp. Other participants will include The Tavern, the Platte River Bar and Grill, Jake’s Brew Bar and In Tea. Most will have live music and all will be peddling celebratory Mardi Gras beads. The bars with live music will
File photo
have no cover charge. As to be expected, the celebrated Reinke Bros. costume store is selling a broad selection of Mardi Gras masks, costumes, makeup and sundry voodoo dolls. Last year’s event attracted about 5,000 people, according to Reinke. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
RTD ridership increases in 2013 The Regional Transportation District experienced an increase in ridership in 2013 and broke 100 million passenger trips for the year. According to a recent ridership report, riders took 2.6 million more trips on the RTD system than in 2012, which is a 2.5 percent increase. In addition to overall increased ridership, light rail ridership was up by nearly 15 percent. The rise in ridership is partially due to the opening of the West Rail Line in April, which contributed 3 million passenger trips to the ridership totals. “The opening of the W Line has brought a new form of public transportation to the cities of Denver, Lakewood and
Golden and it’s exciting to see that people are responding to it and using the service,” said Phil Washington, RTD general manager and CEO. “With the opening of bus rapid transit, commuter rail and new light rail lines in the coming years, we expect these numbers to
continue to grow as more people use public transportation in their daily lives.” Ridership on the system averaged 279,915 boardings per day with 101,889,227 million total boardings. Individuals in Denver who ride public transportation
instead of driving can save, on average, more than $852 a month and $10,225 annually, according to the American Public Transportation Association. These savings are based on the cost of commuting by public transportation compared to the cost of owning and driving a vehicle, which includes the January 2014 average national gas price and the national unreserved monthly parking rate. For route and schedule information, visit www.rtddenver.com or call RTD at 303-299-6000. Patrons with hearing or speech impairments should call the TDD information service at 303299-6089.