Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
JULY 14, 2021
Subject
SUBJECT: LONE HILL TO WHITE DOUBLE TRACK FINAL DESIGN, PLANS SPECIFICATIONS & ESTIMATES
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATIONS
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to:
A. REPROGRAM $769,688 in project savings from Lone Hill to White (LHW) Preliminary Engineering to LHW Final Design and establish Life of Project Final Design budget of $8,269,688 inclusive of all third-party and design-related costs;
B. AWARD and EXECUTE a firm fixed price Contract No. AE73891000 with Moffatt and Nichol, for engineering services for the LHW Final Design Plans, Specifications and Estimates (PS&E) project, in an amount of $6,498,899 subject to resolution of protest(s), if any; and
C. ENTER INTO and EXECUTE all contracts, task orders and agreements within the Life of Project budget including third party agreements necessary to complete the LHW Final Design project.
Issue
ISSUE
In December 2019, the Metro Board programmed funds for Lone Hill to White (LHW) Final Design (see Attachment A). Staff is returning to the Board to seek approval of the life of project budget for the LHW final design and award the engineering services final design plans, specifications and estimates to Moffat and Nichol. Additionally, the staff recommended actions includes reprogramming project savings from the LHW Preliminary Engineering phase to the Final Design phase.
Discussion
BACKGROUND
The LHW double track project consists of adding 4 miles of a second main line track along the Metro-owned San Gabriel subdivision located in the cities of San Dimas and La Verne that serves Metrolink San Bernardino Line (see Attachment B). Approximately 70% of the San Bernardino Line is single track. Single track limits capacity and makes it challenging for trains to recover from operational delays. LHW will ultimately add four miles of double track to provide more capacity and make it easier for Metrolink trains to maintain schedule reliability and on-time performance. The Metrolink San Bernardino Line is a Metrolink commuter rail line which travels 58 miles from downtown Los Angeles to San Bernardino, serving 14 stations, plus a planned extension to Redlands. Pre-COVD, the San Bernardino Line was the highest Metrolink ridership line, averaging over 10,000 boardings per weekday. The San Bernardino Line/San Gabriel subdivision right-of-way in Los Angeles County is owned by LA Metro.
DISCUSSION
This item is coming before the Metro Board now because a series of actions have advanced the LHW project to where it is now ready to go into Final Design. In 2014, Metro completed a San Bernardino Line Infrastructure Improvement Strategic Study which identified LHW as a key project to add capacity and improve operational efficiency on the Metrolink San Bernardino Line. In 2016, the Metro Board awarded an Architecture and Engineering contract to complete LHW preliminary engineering and environmental clearance. Preliminary engineering and environmental studies were completed in 2017. In June 2019 the Metro Board determined that LHW is statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the CEQA Statutory Exemption was filed with the Los Angeles County Clerk. In late 2019 the Metro Board programmed $7,500,000 in Measure R funds to complete LHW Final Design. Due to budget constraints due to COVID, the procurement for LHW Final Design was temporarily deferred in March 2020. Since then, the procurement for LHW Final Design Request for Proposals (RFP) was released in January 2021.
Final Design
In coordination with Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), Burlington North Santa Fe (BNSF), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Gold Line Foothill Authority and cities of San Dimas, La Verne, the LHW Final Design includes adding 4 miles of a second main line in the Metro owned right-of-way in the San Gabriel Subdivisions located in the cities of La Verne and San Dimas including twelve (12) at-grade crossings to be modified with Quiet Zone ready improvements.
Quiet Zone Opportunity
A Quiet Zone is a crossing where the train engineer is not required to sound their horn except in case of an emergency. The Quiet Zone ready improvements required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are additional supplemental safety measures at the at-grade crossings in lieu of the sounding of the train horns. The final design work will include Quiet Zone ready improvements at twelve (12) existing at-grade street crossings that will significantly reduce the train horn noise, improve quality of life for residents of San Dimas and La Verne, and meet the future service operational enhancement to support late night and more frequent service on the Metrolink San Bernardino Line. The cites of San Dimas and La Verne have jurisdictional authority over these twelve at-grade crossings and would be the responsible parties to file the Notice of Intent (NOI) for Quiet Zone with the FRA.
During LHW Preliminary Engineering, the cities of San Dimas and La Verne and other stakeholders were supportive of Quiet Zones and provided letters of support for LHW advancing to Final Design (see Attachment C).
Metrolink SCORE and 2028 Olympics
In 2018 SCRRA received $876 million in funding from the State for the first phase of its Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion (SCORE) program, a major capacity expansion program which will lead to 30-minute bi-directional service on most of its lines by 2028. In SCRRA’s application to the State for SCORE funding, the LHW Double Track Project was identified as a key prerequisite project, to provide reliability and capacity, leading to 30-minute bi-directional service along the San Bernardino Line.
Staff anticipates an increase of Metrolink San Bernardino Line service for the 2028 Olympics as mountain biking events will be hosted in San Dimas near the Metrolink Pomona station. Additionally, the San Bernardino Line will be an important feeder line to enable people in the San Gabriel Valley to easily get to Los Angeles Union Station quickly and easily to access the many Olympic venues in the greater Los Angeles area.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Once constructed, four miles of additional double track will reduce the risk of train-on-train collisions. Quiet Zone ready improvements such as flashing lights, quad gates, center medians, etc., will enhance vehicular and pedestrian safety at the at-grade crossings.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
In March 2016, the Metro Board approved $3,000,000 for LHW Preliminary Engineering Design and the work was completed for a total cost of $2,230,312 which resulted in project savings of $769,688. The Metro Board also approved programming $7.5 million in Measure R 3% for LHW final design in December 2019 (Refer to Attachment A). Applying the cost savings from the preliminary engineering design work in the amount of $769,688 to the programmed funds of $7.5 million, the staff recommended approvals establishes a Life of Project budget for LHW Final Design in the amount of $8,269,688 to address the increase in market costs resulting from COVID19 pandemic.
Impact to Budget
There is no impact to the budget with the staff recommended approvals. The Board approved the FY 2021-22 Budget in May with $374,800 for LHW Final Design. If additional funds are required in FY22, the project team will work with staff to identify additional budget resources. This is a multi-year project, and the Project Manager, Cost Center Manager and Chief Program Management Officer is responsible for budgeting in future fiscal years.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
LHW Final Design is consistent with the following Metro Vision 2028 Goals and Objectives:
Goal 1: Provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling
Goal 2: Deliver outstanding trip experiences for all users of the transportation system
Goal 3: Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity
Goal 4: Transform LA County through regional collaboration and national leadership
METRO EQUITY PLATFORM FRAMEWORK
A Rapid Equity Assessment was completed and is summarized as follows:
LHW will improve schedule reliability, running times, and lead to more frequent Metrolink commuter rail service. More frequent service will create better transit options as the Metrolink SCORE program will lead to 30-minute bi-directional service throughout the day and evening. LHW will give riders more choices and make it easier for riders to get to jobs, housing, appointments and access the public transportation system.
LHW will also improve equity outcomes because the San Bernardino Line is more ethnically diverse than the Metrolink system as a whole. For example, the San Bernardino Line has the highest percent of Hispanic riders (41%). The San Bernardino Line has the second lowest percent of Caucasian riders (27%). Overall, 73% of Metrolink San Bernardino Line riders are non-Caucasian, vs. 66% systemwide.
Request for Proposals (RFP) No. AE73891 was solicited as an open solicitation and included both a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) goal of 21% and a Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) goal of 3%. The solicitation was posted on Metro’s Vendor Portal from January 20, 2021 through February 22, 2021 and was advertised in five publications - LA Daily News, LA Sentinel, LA Opinion, Engineering News Record and Rafu Shimpo. A virtual pre-proposal conference was made available to the public and was held on February 2, 2021 and was attended by 101 participants. A copy of the plan holders list was posted on Metro’s Vendor Portal to facilitate outreach and networking opportunities amongst interested vendors. Additionally, an email blast was sent to all SBE and DVBE firms identified under the applicable NAICS (560 firms) & UNSPSC codes (231 firms). The recommended firm exceed the established DEOD goals by making a 27.19% SBE commitment and a 3.18% DVBE commitment.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The alternative would be to not advance the LHW Double Track project to Final Design. This is not recommended since Preliminary Engineering and environmental clearance have been completed and the LHW Double Track project has seen broad support from SCRRA and the cities of San Dimas and La Verne (Refer to Attachment C). The LHW Final Design will make the project shovel-ready and be in a strong position to compete for local, State and Federal grants and if funded, be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
With approval of the recommended Board actions, staff will execute Contract No. AE73891000 and third-party agreements with various stakeholders. The LHW Final Design is anticipated to be completed in early 2023.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - December 2019 Board Report Program funds for Final Design
Attachment B - Project Location
Attachment C - Letters of Support
Attachment D - Procurement Summary
Attachment E - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Jay Fuhrman, Manager, Transportation Planning, (213) 418-3179
Vincent Chio, Senior Director, Capital Projects (213) 418-3178
Jeanet Owens, Senior Executive Officer, Program Management, Regional Rail, (213) 418-3189
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Bryan Pennington, Chief Program Management Officer Interim), (213) 922-7449
Debra Avila, Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 418-3051
Nalini Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer, (213) 922-3088
