Contractors Submit Proposals To Build Alameda Corridor Trench

Contractors Submit Proposals to Build Alameda Corridor Trench

JUNE 1, 1998

CARSON – Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) officials today received three proposals for the design and construction of a 10-mile-long railroad trench, the biggest portion of the Alameda Corridor project.

Proposals for the Mid-Corridor Design-Build Contract were received from joint ventures led by Bechtel Infrastructure Corp., Tutor-Saliba Corp., and Kiewit Pacific Co. Three other pre-qualified teams did not submit proposals

ACTA will utilize the competitive sealed proposal method as defined in the City of Los Angeles Charter. To ensure confidentiality and impartiality during the evaluation process, the identity of each bidding team and corresponding bid price will be separated and placed in a bank vault and remain known only to the ACTA general manager and special counsel.

“Independent review panels for pricing, management and technical data, and legal and financial data have been established to evaluate the proposals in those key areas,” ACTA General Manager Gill V. Hicks said. Their recommendations will go to a lead selection panel that will determine which proposal offers the lowest ultimate cost.

“We have taken great steps to ensure the integrity of the review and selection process,” Hicks said. “The Mid-Corridor Design Build Contract is a vital piece of our project, representing about two thirds of total construction.”

The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority is building a 20-mile railroad freight expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail yards just east of downtown Los Angeles. The project will speed the shipment of cargo by consolidating rail lines and improve the flow of rail and vehicle traffic by eliminating grade crossings. In the Mid-Corridor segment from about State Route 91 in Compton to 25th Street in Los Angeles, trains will travel below ground level in an open trench three stories deep.

The final Mid-Corridor Design Build Contract is expected to be awarded in late September or early October, with the actual digging of the trench expected to begin in late June 1999. The ACTA Governing Board will make its decision based on lowest ultimate cost.

The contract will require that the Contractor award at least 30 percent of all new worker hours to residents of the Corridor Communities. The Contractor also must set up job training sites and train at least l,000 residents for construction and non-construction related jobs.

A design-build contract differs from a more traditional contract for a public works project. With a traditional contract, an engineering or architectural firm working under contract with a public agency would design a project, and the public agency would seek another contract for construction based on the design. With a design-build contract, one entity would design and construct the project under a single contract with the public entity. This has the advantage of allowing several steps to proceed concurrently, rather than sequentially, thus saving time and money.