Light-rail officials are no closer to discovering who is responsible for cracks found in sections of completed tracks, but said that the project is still on schedule.
Valley Metro will begin testing light-rail cars in late April or early May as planned, said Amy Washburn, light-rail spokeswoman.
"Light-rail construction is on time and on budget," she said. "We had always planned on testing cars in spring of 2008."
Light-rail completion is scheduled for December 2008, said Washburn, so it is important that testing take place as scheduled.
Since the tests will be conducted in a Metro rail yard rather than out on the street, Metro officials never believed the cracks would cause delays in that step of the process, she added.
Earlier this month, light-rail representatives discovered that the cracks were caused by plasma torches used to cut drainage areas into the rails. The process weakened the steel in the tracks, eventually causing them to pull away from one another.
Those responsible for the damage are still unknown, Washburn said.
Undeclared freshman Andrew Brady said he was unaware of the cracks until their cause was revealed. He said he became concerned about light-rail progress when he heard about the damage.
"I've been really wishing I could use something like that ever since I started [at ASU]," he said. "So I was really afraid that things would be delayed even though [light-rail representatives] said they didn't think they would."
Brady said that he is looking forward to the light-rail's completion because it will save him money on gas.
"With the way things are going now, gas is costing me a fortune," he said. "It would be nice to have an alternative that smells better than the bus."
Currently, Brady rides Orbit shuttles when he can, but he said he still drives more often than he would like.
Tempe resident Joseph Alderman said that he too is relieved to hear that the light-rail is on schedule.
"This story comes out that there are cracks, and they don't know who made them," he said. "You start to worry some, especially when you don't hear anything after that."
Alderman said he thinks the light-rail is an important aspect of Tempe's vision for the future.
"You hear a lot about how Tempe and ASU are big on sustainability and all, and I think this has been a big part of their platform," he said. "So I suppose I'm pretty impressed that they're staying committed to getting it done on time."
Reach the reporter at: emma.breysse@asu.edu.
