The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) project involves construction of a high-speed, high-capacity transit line connecting the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, and ultimately Los Angeles International Airport.
The five teams that have met Metro’s initial qualifications are:
- ACS Infrastructure Development;
- LA SkyRail Express;
- Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (Bechtel);
- Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners (Fengate);
- Tutor Perini, Parsons & Plenary.
The have submitted met Metro’s initial qualifications for submitting a predevelopment agreement (PDA) proposal to assist with project planning and design, with the potential opportunity to enter into an implementation agreement after completion of the PDA work.
“I’m pleased that there has been such strong early private-sector interest in this game-changing transit project,” said city of Inglewood mayor and metro board chair James Butts. “These firms have a substantial breadth of expertise in the United States and abroad.”
A PDA with one or more of these firms would enable early contractor involvement in the project, allowing for innovations in design, construction approach, financing and operating approach, said Metro. A private project developer would work with Metro and community stakeholders on defining and designing the project concept. Up to two private project developer teams will be awarded a PDA to provide design and engineering to support development of the project, constructability reviews and cost estimates.
Once project development is complete, one of the private project developers will then have an opportunity to offer to build, operate and maintain the line.
“Metro continues to push the envelope in the pursuit of public/private partnerships for projects of regional and national significance,” said Metro CEO Phillip Washington. “We’re pursuing this innovative project delivery approach because it can be mutually beneficial in sharing critically needed skills, assets, risks and rewards to potentially deliver this project sooner for LA County taxpayers.”
The total project will receive US$9.5bn in funding from a transportation sales tax Measure M and other local, state and federal sources. The first phase of the transit line between the Valley and the Westside is scheduled to open in 2033, and the second phase to LAX is scheduled to open in 2057 under the current schedule, though the aim is to accelerate the schedule.
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