RTD light rail maintenance may snarl traffic and delay commuters downtown for the next few days. Repairs to aging light rail tracks at 17th and Stout streets will close the intersection, along with closure of two lanes of traffic on 17th Street and two lanes of Stout Street Thursday and Friday.

Here are ongoing light rail maintenance projects from RTD.

Track maintenance at 17th and Stout streets (May 25-26)

• Crews are repairing a section of rail at the intersection of 17th and Stout streets that was installed 28 years ago as part of the D Line, or Central Corridor Line, which is RTD’s oldest operating line. The rail has experienced some settling due to heavy usage by an increasing amount of train and vehicular traffic. Bus Routes 38, 42, 44, RX, the Free Mall Ride shuttle and vehicle traffic are being diverted around the work.
• D and H lines are being diverted to Union Station. The L Line is suspended for the duration of the work.
• L Line customers are encouraged to use the Route 43 bus as an alternate to service.
• H Line trains will not operate between University of Denver Station and the downtown loop stations Thursday and will operate every 30 minutes between Florida and University of Denver stations.
• Friday, trains will divert to Union Station
• Details of the work can be found at www.rtd-denver.com.

Overhead wire maintenance at I-25 Broadway Station (May 23-25)

• Crews are replacing a section of the overhead wire near I-25-Broadway Station due to normal wear and tear.
• D Line trains will not operate between the 10th-Osage and Englewood stations. Trains will operate every 15 minutes at stations that remain in service.
• E Line trains will not operate between the 10th-Osage and University of Denver stations. Trains will operate every 30 minutes at stations that remain in service.
• H Line trains will not operate between University of Denver Station and downtown. Trains will operate every 30 minutes between Florida and University of Denver stations.
• No shuttle buses are replacing service during this disruption. Customers are encouraged to use alternate bus routes in the area, such as the routes 0, 0L, 3, 9, 11, 12, 21, 51 and 52.

Ongoing track maintenance along the Southeast Corridor

• Work continues to replace the coping panels, which are the “caps” above the retaining walls, along the Southeast Corridor that runs parallel to I-25 between Lone Tree and Denver.
• Crews are currently working on the panels on the northbound side of the tracks between Orchard and Southmoor stations. Once that work is finished, the project will move up to the area between Southmoor and Yale stations.

16th Street Mall construction detour

• Construction work on the 16th Street Mall continues to require RTD’s Free Mall Ride buses to remain on detour down 15th and 17th streets.
• The detour now extends from Wazee Street to Civic Center Station.
• Southbound buses will pick up on 17th Street at designated stops.
• Northbound buses will pick up on 15th Street at designated stops.
• Details on the detours associated with the construction can be found here at www.rtd-denver.com.

All major service disruptions are posted to RTD’s Service Disruptions page.

RTD reminds customers that all bus, light rail and commuter rail service disruptions are first posted to the Service Alerts page.

Bus route changes

RTD also announced changes to 35 bus routes and schedules as part of its regular service review to address ridership changes, traffic patterns and economic factors. Some of the changes support increases in ridership, improve on-time performance and increase service reliability, according to officials.

For a complete look at the changes RTD is making, visit the Service Changes page of the website.

Notable changes include:

• Major changes to Route 10 in accordance with the agency’s System Optimization Plan, including extension of the route to Colfax and Billings, termination of westbound buses at Union Station, and removing Decatur-Federal Station and the Children’s Museum due to lack of ridership
• Seasonal suspension of school tripper service on Routes 11, 20, 30, 51, 65 and 73 due to summer break, which will return in the proposed September service changes
• Minor schedule adjustments are proposed for Routes 28 and 32 to ensure compliance with the ATU 1001 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Reinstatement of the Route FF2 and operate three eastbound and three westbound trips during morning and evening rush hours
• Addition of a 6:30 a.m. eastbound trip on Route FF5, and shifting the current 7:30 a.m. westbound departure from Anschutz Medical Campus to 7:50 a.m.
• Extension of Route 34 to 30th-Downing Station, where it would merge into Route 38, as well as rerouting of Route 34 to accommodate the new changes; two stops (19044 and 10945) will be discontinued

Routes affected:

0, 3L, 10 , 11, 12, 20, 28 , 30, 32, 34, 38 , 43, 51, 65, 73 , 83D/83L, 133, 169, 169L , 225, 228, DASH, JUMP , SKIP, FlexRide, BOLT , FF2, FF5, NB, D, E, H, N , R, W

Keep up to date on service by following RTD on Twitter @RideRTD and signing up for Service Alerts. For route and schedule information, call RTD Customer Care at 303.299.6000 (Mondays-Fridays 6 a.m-8 p.m. and weekends/holidays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.). Call 303.299.6089 for the speech and hearing impaired. Visit RTD’s website at rtd-denver.com.