A district court in Denver ruled in favor of the Regional Transportation District in a $115 million dispute over the costs of ensuring vehicle safety at railroad crossings on the A, B and G light rail lines.

The dispute over problems with the Eagle Project has been winding its way through the regulatory and legal system since 2016. Both parties said they are weighing options to appeal. 

In denying the complaint, Judge Andrew McCallin laid responsibility for the cost of years of delays over crossing gate activation problems on the contractor, Denver Transit Partners, the consortium led by the Fluor Corp.

“We note the court’s decision and will evaluate our options for moving forward,” said Doug Allen, Denver Transit Partners CEO in a statement to The Denver Gazette. “Despite the commercial disputes giving rise to the court’s decision, we have always enjoyed a strong working relationship with RTD, and we expect that to continue.”

McCallin said delays by Federal Rail Administration, Colorado Public Utilities Commission and RTD in approving the innovative but faulty wireless control system for crossing gates was caused by the contractor’s design and construction of the system.

“The court concludes that the design and operation of the warning system were under the control of DTP,” McCallin argued. “Therefore, it is appropriate to place the regulatory risk on DTP for a warning system that fails to activate properly or as designed.”

The judge also denied RTD’s $11.6 million counterclaim for damages for the delays and investigations into the gate control system failure.

In addition, McCallin dismissed an RTD petition to invalidate the $2.3 billion agreement for breach of contract, saying it would be unfair for RTD to walk away from the contract now.

In a statement to the Denver Gazette, RTD said it “is in receipt of the judge’s ruling and is thoroughly reviewing the decision. The agency is committed to its long-standing partnership with Denver Transit Partners.”

The 34-year contract for Denver Transit Partners to design, finance, build, maintain and operate the rail lines was signed in 2010. Construction started in 2011.

The company is contracted to run the system and collect revenues through 2044.

During testing, problems with the crossing gates and warning systems at highway grade crossings resulted in several near misses between vehicles and trains. Malfunctions included crossing gates coming down too late, or not at all, and staying down too long.

Long delays in the gates going up after the train passes led to traffic snarls and vehicles trying to dodge the gates. The delays also affected emergency services and police responses.

Officials at the Federal Railway Administration granted a waiver for the A-line and B-lines to open for service on the condition that crossing attendants were posted at each grade crossing to control traffic in the event of a system failure.

The last crossing attendants, those on the G-Line, weren’t removed until 2019.