Meeting_Body
CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 16, 2023
Subject
SUBJECT: WEST SANTA ANA BRANCH TRANSIT CORRIDOR
Action
ACTION: AWARD PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
CONSIDER:
A. AUTHORIZING the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to award a cost plus fixed fee contract, Contract No. AE104903000, to HDR Engineering, Inc., for advanced engineering and final design services of utility adjustments, freight relocation, and grade crossings for the Slauson/A Line to Pioneer segment of the West Santa Ana Branch (WSAB) Transit Corridor Project in the amount of $75,407,476, subject to the resolution of protest(s), if any; and
B. APPROVING Contract Modification Authority (CMA) specific to Contract No. AE104903000 in the amount of $7,540,748, or 10% of the not-to-exceed contract award value authorize the CEO to execute individual Contract Modifications within the Board-approved Contract Modification Authority.
Issue
ISSUE
Staff is seeking the Board’s approval of contract award to provide advanced engineering and final design of high-risk items such as utility adjustments, freight realignment, and grade crossings. The contract also includes design support services during the construction of these scope items. Due to the size and complexity of the 14.5-mile long corridor with numerous critical third-party stakeholders (including but not limited to, the railroad, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, 41 utility entities, and various corridor cities), staff is seeking 10% CMA to allow for flexibility and timely responsiveness necessary to maintain the project schedule.
Background
BACKGROUND
To meet the Board’s expectation of completing the LPA segment for service by 2035, staff must implement parallel workstreams to meet that schedule. One of those workstreams is to address risks early in the project development phase, as staff continues concurrently to complete the Final EIS/EIR. Successful negotiations with stakeholders such as Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), Port of Long Beach, and Port of Los Angeles will rely on the advancement of the design packages as they inform the terms of the final agreements.
Relocation and adjustment of utilities and reaching agreement with key stakeholders, such as the railroad, are critical risks on any project and historically drive schedule and cost. For WSAB, existing utilities and freight tracks conflict with the future light rail alignment and must be realigned to their future configuration before the light rail can be constructed.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The roadmap comprises of the following parallel workstreams:
• Planning - completing final environmental clearance,
• Early Due Diligence - addressing high risk items such as utilities, unknown soils conditions, and third-party agreements, and
• LRT Project Delivery - continuing to evaluate various contract delivery methods most beneficial to Metro.
A component of the Early Due Diligence workstream includes the award of several contracts to deliver the utility adjustments, freight realignment, and grade crossings as a precursor to the light rail construction. The first of those contracts is the Advanced Engineering which if approved, will enable the project to advance seamlessly and maintain the current schedule. Successful negotiations with key stakeholders such as utility owners, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), Port of Long Beach, and Port of Los Angeles will rely on the advancement of the design packages as they inform the terms of the final agreements.
The other upcoming contracts requiring future Board approval include Program Management Support Services (PMSS), anticipated for Board action in January 2024, followed by two separate Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) contracts - one for utility adjustment and the other for freight realignment, both anticipated for Board action by fall/winter of 2024.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
There is no impact to safety.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY24 budget contains $19.5M in Cost Center 8510 (Program Management), Project 460201 for professional services. Since this is a multi-year contract, the Project Manager and Chief Program Management Officer will be responsible for budgeting in future years.
Impact to Budget
Currently, the funds for this project are provided by the Measure R 35%, Measure M 35% and State Grant SB1. No other funding sources are considered for this effort. These funds are not eligible for operating charges.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
This Project will benefit communities through the addition of a new high-quality reliable light rail transit which will increase mobility and connectivity for the historically under-served and transit- dependent communities along the corridor. Approval of the contract will allow staff to advance the project and maintain the schedule to complete the line for service by 2035. The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal for this procurement is 28% of the contract value; the recommended firm exceeded this goal by making a 28.03% commitment.
The WSAB Transit Corridor is comprised largely of Environmental Justice (EJ) communities. In 2017 (the first year of environmental analysis), minority residents comprised 65 percent of the total Study Area population, with Hispanic/Latino groups alone accounting for 51 percent of the total population. In addition, 44 percent of Study Area residents live below the poverty level, which is higher than the county average of 33 percent. The entire LPA qualifies as an EJ corridor and the corridor cities of Bellflower, Paramount, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, and Huntington Park are also identified as LA Metro’s Equity Focus Communities. Since initiating the Project study, staff has conducted extensive outreach efforts for corridor communities, and has continued to engage project stakeholders through a variety of forums, platforms, languages, and access methods, including special outreach efforts to people of color, low-income, and limited English proficiency populations, and persons with disabilities. Project development has been directly influenced by this engagement, as discussed above. Metro staff will continue to reengage communities as a part of the completion of the final environmental document, as well as the Slauson/A Line to LAUS Study, to help define the project, including alignment profile, station locations, and design.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The Project supports the following strategic plan goals identified in Vision 2028: Goal 1: Provide high- quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling, Goal 3: Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity and Goal 5: Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could choose not to approve the contract award. Delaying this contract award to a future date would pose significant delays to the overall project schedule and risk that the project would be unable to meet its Measure M schedule.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute Contract No. AE104903000 with XXX for engineering and design services for utilities, freight, and grade crossings. These activities are needed to continue advancing the Project per Board direction.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
June Susilo, Deputy Executive Officer, Program Management, (562) 524-0532
Mat Antonelli, Deputy Chief Program Management Officer, (213)893 -7114
Tashia Smith, Executive Officer, Diversity & Economic Opportunity Department, (922)-2128
Debra Avila, Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 418-3051
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Darcy Buryniuk, Chief Program Management Officer, (213) 922-2250
