Meeting_Body
CONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 14, 2026
Subject
SUBJECT: EASTSIDE TRANSIT CORRIDOR PHASE 2 PROJECT
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. EXECUTE Modification No. 11 to Contract No. AE51242000 with Cordoba HNTB Design Partners, a Joint Venture, for Advanced Preliminary Engineering (APE) for the Initial Operating Segment (IOS), in the amount of $24,980,734, increasing the contract value from $110,383,386 to $135,364,120 and extend the period of performance from February 28, 2027 to March 31, 2028, subject to Federal Transit Administration (FTA)’s completion of its review of the Environmental Assessment and issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact;
B. INCREASE the Contract Modification Authority (CMA) for Contract No. AE51242000 in the amount of $2,498,073, increasing the CMA from $3,230,845 to $5,728,918; and
C. EXECUTE individual contract modifications within the Board-approved CMA.
Issue
ISSUE
At its September 2024 meeting, the Board approved a contract modification to the Cordoba HNTB Design Partners’ Contract to advance the IOS through 30% Preliminary Engineering (PE). During the PE design phase, Metro continued refining the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project (Project)’s preliminary engineering design, advancing the federal environmental review process, evaluating design refinements, and coordinating with partner agencies and key stakeholders to prepare the Project for subsequent phases of engineering, procurement, and delivery.
The Cordoba HNTB Design Partners’ Contract is set to expire in February 2027. Without a seamless extension or follow-on contract for the Engineer of Record (EOR), the Project faces an immediate cessation of technical support.
In addition, staff is requesting an increase in CMA for Contract No. AE51242000. As the Project advances through APE, additional contract modifications may be required to address evolving project needs. The requested CMA provides the flexibility needed to address unexpected design changes such as third-party stakeholders’ mitigation efforts, while supporting timely delivery of critical Project activities.
Background
BACKGROUND
Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project is a nine-mile light rail transit (LRT) extension from the existing Metro E Line serving the cities and communities of Commerce, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier, and unincorporated East Los Angeles and West Whittier-Los Nietos. At the December 2022 Board meeting, the Board approved the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), which included three underground stations (Atlantic/Pomona, Atlantic/Whittier, and Commerce/Citadel), one at-grade station (Greenwood), and a Maintenance and Storage Facility.
At its May 2024 meeting, the Board certified the full nine-mile Project alignment to Whittier in the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Certification of the Final EIR also includes approval of the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan and the Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Conditions.
The Project is a Measure R and Measure M project that is included in the 2020 Long Range Transportation Plan and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS).
The Measure M Ordinance identifies $3 billion (2015 $) in Measure M and other local, state, and federal funding for the Project. Metro continues to pursue federal funding through the FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) New Starts Program. In June 2026, FTA determined that the Project had satisfied the requirements to enter the Project Development (PD) phase of the New Starts Program, allowing Metro to continue advancing project development activities in support of future federal funding.
At its October 2018 meeting, the Board awarded firm fixed-price Contract No. AE51242000 to Cordoba HNTB Design Partners to provide Advanced Conceptual Engineering (ACE) and urban design services for the Project in support of environmental review and approved CMA of $3,230,845. Since the contract award, the contract has been modified to support environmental studies, project refinements, and advancement of the IOS through 30% PE without increasing CMA. The current contract expires on February 28, 2027.
At its July 2026 meeting, the Board authorized Metro to receive and file the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Project IOS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), approved the 9-acre Maintenance and Storage Facility in the City of Commerce for the Board-selected LPA, and amended the 2020 Long Range Transportation Plan to reflect the refined LPA. These actions enabled Metro to continue coordination with the FTA on the final NEPA decision document and advance the Project toward subsequent engineering, procurement, and delivery activities.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The Project has advanced through key engineering, environmental, funding, and project development milestones. The Project completed Advanced Conceptual Engineering (15% design) in 2022 and substantially completed Civil Preliminary Engineering (30% design) in September 2026, while the remaining contractual Preliminary Engineering activities will continue into early 2027, with Systems Preliminary Engineering anticipated to be completed in November 2026. Concurrently, Metro advanced the federal environmental review process, secured more than $3.9 billion in committed local and state funding, and entered the FTA CIG New Starts Project Development phase in June 2026. These accomplishments position the Project to commence right-of-way acquisition in November, pursue a Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) to support early procurement activities, and ultimately seek entry into the FTA Engineering phase, currently anticipated for the first quarter of 2028.
Considerations
Completion of the remaining contractual PE services and continuation of engineering services through APE provide benefits that support upcoming right-of-way, early engineering for Atlantic/Pomona station, procurement, and FTA Project Development activities. Key considerations include:
• Knowledge Continuity: Retaining the current team preserves years of institutional knowledge, including stakeholder momentum with cities/utilities, critical interface definitions, and a comprehensive project risk register.
• Schedule Preservation: Leveraging existing knowledge from 2022 through 2026 allows APE to begin sooner and focus on portions of critical-path engineering and utility works. A break in continuity will pause these APE efforts and jeopardize the 2036 completion goal.
• Economies of Scale: APE creates cost and schedule efficiencies that benefit overall program delivery by taking advantage of current schedule opportunities through seamless continuity of engineering.
• Contracts Packaging and Delivery Methods: APE enables staff to leverage technical expertise to identify and define critical design and scope interfaces early. This minimizes program and project risk by developing key elements of a forward looking strategic and tactical plan for successful program delivery.
• Project Flexibility: Maintaining adequate Contract Modification Authority supports uninterrupted advancement of the Project by allowing Metro to address evolving engineering needs without unnecessary delays.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of this contract modification will not impact the safety of Metro’s customers or employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This Modification does not impact the FY27 budget, as the funding of $12.5 million is included in the adopted Fiscal Year 2027 budget under Project 860232 (Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project) in Cost Center 8510 (Program Management). Since this is a multi-year contract, the Cost Center Manager, Project Manager, and Chief Program Management Officer will be responsible for budgeting in future years.
Impact to Budget
Funding for this action comes from Measure R 35% Transit Capital and TIRCP (Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program: Cycle 6), which is not eligible for bus and rail operations.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The Board’s approval of the contract modification for the Project will help advance equitable access to opportunity as the Project traverses through six Equity Focus Communities (EFCs) along the eastern portion of Los Angeles County. There are 2,281 transit-dependent households along the project alignment and 1,828 transit-dependent households along the LPA. This Project will benefit these EFCs and other communities along the eastern portion of Los Angeles County by providing access to a reliable light rail system and filling a gap in high-quality transit services that currently exist. When the eventual build-out of the project occurs, communities along the corridor will have access to the Metro regional network and to activity centers and job opportunities along the corridor that include but are not limited to, Whittier College, East Los Angeles College, Citadel Outlets, Historic Whittier Boulevard retail, and Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital.
Cordoba HNTB Design Partners made a 54.91% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) commitment on this contract. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that makes changes to the DBE Program, including the suspension of goals, counting participation, and enforcement effective October 3, 2025. While the DBE commitment is not a factor in the staff recommendation, there are eight certified small businesses participating in this contract.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled _Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
VMT was analyzed for this item through the VMT analysis completed for the Eastside Phase 2 Project Final EIR. The analysis identified a reduction in VMT due to the implementation of the project compared to conditions without the project, which demonstrates a benefit from the project and a less than significant impact from an environmental standpoint. Specifically, the VMT analysis in the Environmental Assessment (EA) identified a reduction in daily regional VMT of approximately 8,000 miles compared to the Horizon Year (2050) No Build Alternative conditions.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway
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,
• Goal 4: Transform LA County through regional collaboration and national leadership, 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 modification and increase in CMA. Delaying this contract modification to a future date or re-procuring for this phase of work would pose significant delays to the overall program delivery schedule. This schedule gap would disrupt critical-path milestones, stall upcoming procurement activities, and result in significant program delays and cost increases as described below:
• Utility & Real Estate: Advanced utility design and relocations and real estate acquisitions begin in November 2026; both require immediate design support and private property surveys.
• Station Strategy: APE will support the early engineering of the Atlantic/Pomona station. This provides greater flexibility for future procurement and construction sequencing and may enable earlier completion of the station and return the site to the community independent of other project elements. This approach has the potential to reduce the bus bridge duration and restore local access faster and create opportunities for future joint-use development.
• Procurement Support: Request For Proposals (RFP) for upcoming contract packages are scheduled to begin early next year. Approving APE ensures expert technical support to address proposer inquiries efficiently and for developing enhanced technical RFP bridging documents.
• Procurement Efficiency: Board approval for APE saves up to 10-12 months of a typical new solicitation process.
• Schedule and Cost: If APE is not authorized, the Project will face an immediate cessation of engineering support. This will trigger a 10-12-month procurement delay and a loss of institutional knowledge, unnecessarily jeopardizing the project schedule. This delivery delay would also have a detrimental impact on the project cost.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute Modification No. 11 to the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project Contract No. AE51242000 with Cordoba HNTB Design Partners, a Joint Venture, for APE for the IOS and extend the period of performance from February 28, 2027 to March 31, 2028. This effort will continue advancing the IOS by supporting utility engineering and right-of-way coordination, development of procurement packages, value engineering, updated cost estimates for future federal funding, and technical support through procurement.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - Contract Modification/Change Order Log
Attachment C - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Rohit Sharda, Executive Officer, Project Management, (213) 956-3354
Michael McKenna, Deputy Chief, Program Management, (213) 922-4239
Carolina Coppolo, Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 922-4471
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Timothy Lindholm, Chief Program Management Officer, (213) 922-7297
Mat Antonelli, Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 893-7114
