DENVER — Miller Hudson wants to build a high-speed monorail 163 miles between Denver and the ski slopes of Vail. But Mickey Mouse is getting in the way.
Hudson, former head of the Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority, says too many people think of monorails as amusement park rides thanks to Walt Disney.
"I'd have to say they are the most successful entertainment system in the world. It's working for them and I think it will work for us," Hudson said.
Colorado voters this fall likely will decide whether to spend $50 million to build a single test track near Pueblo and put a train on it powered with a newly invented motor.
The proposed line is envisioned as the first link in a $3.9 billion system that would ease traffic bottlenecks without building more roadway along Colorado's main highway in and out of the Rockies, I-70.
But others think supporters are on the wrong track.
The plan "doesn't make a lot of sense," said Dick Wadhams, spokesman for Gov. Bill Owens. "It wouldn't take that many people off the highway."
Owens, for his part, has called the project an expensive "Disneyland ride."
Hudson envisions the monorail carrying up to 10,000 people an hour at speeds up to 125 mph when completed in 2010. That is, if Colorado voters agree with Hudson's vision.
It would operate between Denver International Airport and the Eagle County Airport, west of Vail. Other routes have been proposed, such as between Fort Collins and Pueblo along the Front Range.
Critics say the cost of building the system would be equivalent to spending four years' worth of new roads and road repairs for one elevated train that would serve mostly ski resorts.
State Transportation Director Tom Norton also disputes the projected cost, estimating the final expense would be closer to $8 billion, based on a state study.
But advocates say monorails could be an alternative for Colorado just as gasoline prices soar to all-time highs and the state's commuters burn more of it than ever sitting in traffic.
They argue that monorails are faster, safer and cleaner than cars, and more efficient, too. There are no carbon monoxide emissions and vehicle-related injuries would decrease along I-70.
A group called the Colorado Alliance for a Rapid Transit Solution, composed of residents living along the interstate, supports a monorail instead of widening the interstate. Conservation groups support the environmental friendliness of the train.
Hudson said his group can build a monorail for $21 million a mile. Adding two lanes over 100 miles through the Rockies on I-70 would cost $35 million a mile, he said.
Hudson also cites an October poll commissioned by Denver station KUSA-TV that showed 51 percent of Coloradans supported a monorail as opposed to 28 percent who favor widening the interstate. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
A state study of about 150 alternatives to ease congestion on I-70 should be completed by 2003, Norton said. An elevated train is one of the alternatives.
While Europe and Asia have seriously embraced light rail for mass transit, mostly small lines run in a handful of American cities.
America's most famous monorails are in theme parks, such as California's Disneyland and Florida's Walt Disney World, or in zoos, like in Philadelphia and Miami.
Colorado's authority hopes voters will see the monorail's merits and approve a public and private funding package in 2005, with completion five years later.
The proposed monorail would be elevated 15 to 20 feet and would use an electromagnetic motor developed as part of the Star Wars program in the 1980s to shoot satellites into space.
Since the power comes from magnets on the motor, the train would be able to speed along on steep mountain grades in snow and rain, critical if motoring through the Rockies.
Hudson hopes even the Disneyland image can become an ally.
"The cost to operate and the ease of the system were the very reason why Disney selected that to move people," Hudson said.
On the Net: Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority: www.cifga.com
Colorado Department of Transportation: www.dot.state.co.us
The Monorail Society: www.monorails.org