After more than a year of waiting, all that stands between Coloradans and 11 miles of commuter rail line from downtown Denver to Wheat Ridge is the elusive approval of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

Count us among those happy that the PUC is holding a final hearing to determine whether the 15 road crossings the new G-Line train must make on the journey will be safe using the Regional Transportation District’s new automated crossing gate and train driving technology. Not everyone views the bureaucratic delay that kindly. But at this late date of costly delay after delay, the temptation to rubber stamp the project must be intense.

RTD and the third-party developers of the rail system promised a standard of operation for the new line they have not been able to meet. The question is whether operation below that standard is acceptable.

Read more at The Denver Post.