Ten years after work began on the massive FasTracks metro-wide mass transit project, officials insist Denver and its suburbs are being molded into a 21st century model for moving people from their homes to jobs and places in between.

But along the way, FasTracks has picked up its share of critics. There have been cost overruns past the $4.7 billion of debt voters approved for FasTracks in November 2004, lower ridership numbers than predicted and the implosion of the planned Northwest Rail Line to Boulder, say detractors.

The northwest line was severed in 2012, at least temporarily, when costs climbed past planned revenue. That prompted howls of protests along the U.S. 36 corridor as the promised commuter-rail train was replaced with a bus system.

“Some of the residents up here are still mad about that and will bite your head off if you mention it to them,” Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum said. “I’m happy to celebrate the accomplishments of FasTracks. I think it will add enormously to the metro area, but it came at a cost. And much of that came from our corridor.”

The first components of the FasTracks plan — which calls for 122 miles of new light rail and commuter rail to connect the metro area — started to be pieced together two years ago, when the 12.1-mile West Rail Line from Denver to Golden opened to riders.

A year later, a renovated Denver Union Station opened and the Free MetroRide in downtown Denver was launched.

Meanwhile, about 18 miles of bus rapid transit — BRT — is also being added from Denver to Boulder.

But that is just a springboard for six other FasTracks projects. Five of which — including rail to Denver International Airport — will open next year. The North Metro Rail line from Union Station through Adams County opens in 2018.

“It’s all about connecting people all over the area, to getting them where they need to go,” said Lorraine Anderson, a Regional Transportation District board member who fought early and hard for the FasTracks idea. “Because of FasTracks, someday you will get connected to just about any place you want to go.”

Along the way, FasTracks has injected more than $5 billion into the metro economy and created 13,000 full-time jobs, say RTD officials. FasTracks also is spawning transit-oriented development along its rail lines, including apartments, shopping centers and business parks.

“FasTracks is already benefitting the region, and those benefits will multiply as we continue to fulfill our promise to complete FasTracks,” said Chuck Sisk, a former mayor of Louisville and now chair of the RTD board of directors. “But it really starts and ends with the citizens and their vote of confidence in 2004.”

The failed Guide the Ride vote in 1997 prompted backers of a metro-wide transit system to redouble their efforts.

“It really got people working together like never before,” said Anderson, who was chairwoman of the Denver Regional Council of Government at the time of the Guide the Ride vote.

Support came from DRCOG, the Metro Mayors Caucus, then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and, most importantly, from business groups who knew the value of unclogging Denver roads, Sisk said.

Also key was getting all local governments to back the idea.

“They adopted the approach that if one area got light rail, then other areas would get it as well,” Sisk said.

Voters in the eight counties that make up RTD passed the original 0.4 percent sales tax increase for FasTracks, with 58 percent of the vote, and to this day FasTracks remains popular — even though its cost has gone up to $5.3 billion and may reach as high as $8 billion.

But a 2013 poll of 800 Denver-area residents found that while 85 percent said the 2004 vote was a good decision only 1 percent said they used RTD daily and 2 percent said they rode transit to work daily. About 71 percent said they never used RTD to commute to work, and 45 percent said they never used transit for other purposes.

Others point out that ridership is still lagging for FasTracks and RTD’s base bus system. An otherwise spark ling review of FasTracks for The Atlantic magazine points out that only about 6 percent of Denver residents use buses or light rail.

Randal O’Toole, of the Cato Institute and harsh critic of FasTracks, said the West Rail Line is a typical victim of RTD’s overly optimistic projections, noting a 30 percent ridership shortfall on the line.

“With double the construction costs and only two-thirds of the riders, the West Rail Line is clearly far less cost-effective at relieving congestion than originally claimed,” O’Toole said shortly after the West Line opened.

But the West Rail Line, like others, will grow as people get more familiar with transit, said Pauletta Tonilas, RTD spokeswoman for FasTracks.

“It takes about two years for ridership to normalize,” Tonilas said. “Also, some bus service in the corridor that we initially reduced when the W Line opened was restored due to strong community interest.”

To complete FasTracks, RTD has worked out public-private partnerships with companies to use their financial resources. RTD also got more than $1 billion of federal funding for projects.

“Without question, we’ve had our challenges. But by partnering with the public and private sectors, we’ve gotten creative and have most of FasTracks either completed or in construction,” said RTD general manager Phil Washington.

Thornton resident ChaCha Cruz can’t wait for the final light rail connection that will allow her to hook up easily with family members who live in Highlands Ranch and Parker.

“I do see light rail and FasTracks connecting us better than we ever have before,” Cruz said. “Suddenly, going down south or to the airport, won’t be a problem.”

Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/montewhaley