Clear Creek Courant: Loop looks to end of season, plans off-season work

First, the link: Clear Creek Courant: Loop looks to end of season, plans off-season work

Next, a quote, the second paragraph of the article:

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According to Tom Hill, the Loop’s marketing manager, 50,000 to 51,000 riders are expected to have ridden the Loop this year, even though the Loop didn’t operate for 40 days. A final ridership count will be contingent on equipment availability, weather and ticket sales. While three print ads a week will continue until the end of the season, as a cost-cutting measure all television ads have been canceled.

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and from the second to last paragraph:

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During an engineering examination of the bridges on the Loop, the “pin truss bridge” was found to need replacement, as it has exceeded its normal lifespan by 40 years.

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Anyone have a copy of the structural inspection and load-rating that would be used to justify a replacement? I suspect that someone (finally) discovered that #1203 wouldn't fit and/or was too heavy, but I would still like to see the analysis for myself.

There are some other interesting points in the article, which I will comment on:

(1) #9 awaits CDOT, who needs to approve expending $200,000 on an "overhaul". I wasn't aware that CDOT had a funding source for this type of operational expense. Anybody what funding source the CHS is attempting to tap?

(2) #12 is going to be disassembled "as soon as the season is complete". This sentence comes after the article says that the season ends in less than three weeks, so it looks like the winter coaches won't be used this winter.

The article also says that Bell indicated that "a combination of federal, state and operating budget money can be used" to repair #12. Anyone know what federal funds they think they're going to use? I am not aware of any federal funding source for *operational* expenses. As far as I know, winter maintenance work would be considered an operational --not capital-- expense.

(3) Bell "declined to indicate when [#1203] would be delivered to the Loop."

(4) Uhrich is working on #111, but "no date for completion has been set." Bell "hopes" to have #111 next year.

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Chris Webster
[www.speakeasy.org]