Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 20, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: I-710 INTEGRATED CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES
Action
ACTION: AWARD CONTRACT
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to award a 48-month, firm-fixed-price Contract No. AE52227000 to Jacobs Project Management Co. for Construction Management Support Services (CMSS) for the Interstate 710 Integrated Corridor Management (I-710 ICM) Project in the amount of $5,521,039, subject to the resolution of any properly submitted protest(s), if any.
Issue
ISSUE
Construction support services, including construction management, system integration, stakeholder coordination, and permitting oversight, are required to support the full deployment of the I-710 ICM Project. The project is one of the I-710 Task Force’s early initiative projects, later included in the Board approved Long Beach-East Los Angeles Corridor Mobility Investment Plan.
Background
BACKGROUND
The I-710 freeway is a major goods movement corridor and a key part of the regional transportation network system. Freight from the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach moves into the greater Los Angeles area through the I-710 freeway. Freeway congestion has historically impacted the roadways and communities adjacent to the freeway. To improve mobility and safety, the I-710 ICM Project will rely on a multi-modal, multi-agency collaboration to integrate the various transportation networks currently operating independently.
The I-710 ICM Project elements were included in the Gateway Cities Council of Governments (GCCOG) Strategic Transportation Plan and the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan. In 2018, Metro staff completed the Los Angeles Regional Integrated Corridor Management Assessment (LARICMA) to assess potential corridors that would benefit from Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) strategies. These strategies help manage congestion, improve air quality, enhance technological capabilities, and build multi-jurisdictional partnerships connecting transportation management systems. The final report identified the I-710 between State Route 60 (SR-60) and State Route 91 (SR-91) as a suitable corridor for ICM strategies.
In 2022, the Board directed staff to pursue grant funding through the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) for the construction phase of the I-710 ICM Project, which was successfully secured in Cycle 3 of TCEP. The project is one of the I-710 Task Force’s early initiative projects, later included in the Board approved Long Beach-East Los Angeles Corridor Mobility Investment Plan.
In December 2023, the project was environmentally cleared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) through the Categorical Exemptions/Categorical Exclusions (CE/CE) process. In December 2024, Final 100% Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) were completed in collaboration with Caltrans, Los Angeles County Public Works, and the Cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, South Gate, and Vernon.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Staff recommends using CMSS for the construction and implementation phase of the I-710 ICM Project as it enables Metro to engage a Construction Manager (CM) consultant to collaborate with Metro, the General Contractor, and the local agencies. The CM provides the ability to effectively manage the project during the construction phase, as the CM will be responsible for managing the General Contractor, obtaining the necessary permits from the local agencies, coordinating with the local agencies during construction, testing and verifying the ITS elements deployed, systems integration, and ensuring construction safety at project locations.
ICM strategies include technology-based, integrated transportation management systems to coordinate traffic signal operations, enhance system detection, and upgrade wayfinding to manage non-recurring congestion effectively. While Atlantic Boulevard and Garfield Avenue have historically served as alternate routes to the I-710 freeway, the I-710 corridor experiences congestion and safety issues due to population and employment growth, increased passenger car and freight volumes, as well as aged infrastructure. This project is essential to minimize the impacts of non-recurring congestion on the I-710 corridor and adjacent routes by using an integrated management approach to coordinate operations.
In addition, the I-710 ICM Project will improve system detection and implement response plans to address incidents on the freeway or adjacent routes. This includes collaborating with various stakeholders, such as: Caltrans, Los Angeles County Public Works, the Regional Integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems (RIITS), transit providers, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Southern California 511; the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, South Gate, and Vernon; as well as third-party traveler information providers (i.e. Google/Waze). The I-710 ICM Project will also develop an ICM System including a data hub and Decision Support System (DSS) within the RIITS network to ingest traffic data from the freeway system, local road systems, as well as other sources in order to initiate response plans and better manage congestion through the corridor.
Lastly, integrating the transportation management systems of the 11 corridor cities, Los Angeles County Public Works and Caltrans will improve real-time data sharing, maximize system operations on the I-710 freeway and adjacent streets, as well as allow agencies within the study area to manage the transportation corridor as a unified system. This will optimize signal synchronization, enhance real-time traveler information, and implement ITS technologies to improve operations and safety while promoting cooperative/collaborative transportation system management. Using ITS technologies and proactive incident response strategies, the I-710 ICM Project will enhance congestion management to address non-recurring incidents such as stalled vehicles, multi-vehicle crashes, and other incidents that create major delays, cause congestion, and/or generate secondary incidents. Overall, the project will help improve mobility, safety, traveler information, and air quality monitoring.
Staff recommends the award for CMSS firm fixed price contract for the I-710 ICM Project as further explained in the Procurement Summary in Attachment A and DEOD summary in Attachment B.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The I-710 ICM Project includes elements that will improve safety in the corridor. By enabling proactive traffic management strategies, secondary crashes are anticipated to decline. Also, the project includes various safety features at key locations, such as reflective traffic signals, restriped crosswalks, and pedestrian signal improvements that will provide added visibility for drivers and enhance pedestrian facilities at select intersections.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The project has secured $27,840,000 from the State’s Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) for construction, with $7,160,000 in Prop C 25% funds as the local match. For FY25, $2,205,189 has been allocated for design and construction in the I-710 Integrated Corridor Management (I-710 ICM) Project 463616, under cost center 4740. Since this is a multi-year project, the project manager, cost center manager, and Deputy Chief Operations Officer of Shared Mobility will be accountable for budgeting the costs for future fiscal years.
Impact to Budget
There is no impact on the FY25 budget, as the project's funding, consisting of State TCEP grant funding, Prop C 25% funds, and Measure R subregional funds, is included in the FY25 budget.
Equity Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The Equity Focus Community (EFC) designation represents locations where strategic transportation investments can significantly reduce disparities in access to opportunity based on three factors: low-income households, race and ethnicity, and households with low vehicle ownership. Ninety percent of the I-710 ICM Study Area is comprised of processes that are incorporated into the project design. ICM primarily serves roadway users when incidents occur and benefits persons concentrated in EFC zones by improving roadway safety and minimizing congestion impacts on local arterials. In addition, air quality impacts that disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities will be monitored, with benefits anticipated due to a reduction in non-recurring traffic congestion within the corridor.
Stakeholder engagement followed the outreach phases and processes from the I-710 South Corridor Project and Long Beach-East Los Angeles Corridor Mobility Investment Plan. Engagement included meetings and presentations to provide information and receive feedback from the Gateway Cities Council of Governments Transportation Committee, community-based organizations (CBOs) such as the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice (CEHAJ) and the I-710 Task Force Community Leadership Council. Since initiating the design phase in 2020, the project team has held over 70 stakeholder meetings. Staff will continue coordinating closely with Caltrans, Los Angeles County Public Works, the corridor cities, and the general public through the construction phase.
The I-710 ICM Project addresses two Equity Platform pillars: Focus and Deliver and Train and Grow. The project aims to deliver a more reliable, high-quality transportation solution to the communities of East Los Angeles and Southeast Los Angeles, which will help alleviate congestion, improve transportation management, and meet the mobility needs of the area’s residents and businesses. As the first Metro-led ICM project in Los Angeles County, this project also serves as a training opportunity to incorporate the equity platform into the traditional systems engineering process and will serve as a blueprint for subsequent expansion initiatives.
Request for Proposals (RGP) No. AE52227 was advertised as an open solicitation and included both a 28% Small Business Enterprise (SBE) goal and a 3% Disabled Veteran Business goal. The recommended firm exceeded the established DEOD goals by making a 28.12% SBE commitment and a 3.01% DVBE commitment.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled _Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
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 not analyzed for this project as the transportation system management (TSM) approach focuses on addressing non-recurring congestion events only, and current Caltrans policy does not require VMT impact analysis on these types of projects because the anticipated VMT impacts are expected, if any, to be very minimal. This project does not increase capacity by adding new lanes but focuses on roadway safety by ensuring existing transportation is managed appropriately to reduce secondary accidents, improving active transportation safety, distributing traveler information, and enhancing bus speed & reliability. When activated, the ICM will reduce the negative local congestion impacts for all roadway users, including those on Metro Lines 117, 258, 260, and 261, as incident/event-related congestion normalizes. Overall, it is possible that this project would increase VMT, given that vehicle travel time will be improved, which could induce more trip-making by vehicles. Any increase in VMT due to this project is expected to be minimal to the point where it is not easily quantifiable, and the safety improvements involved, as well as the transit benefits, will contribute to offsetting the possible increase.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The project supports the goals outlined in the Metro Vision 2028 Strategic Plan. More specifically, the project supports Goal #3 - Enhance Communities through Mobility and Enhanced Access to Opportunity and Goal #4 Transform LA County through regional collaboration and national leadership. The I-710 ICM Project aims to manage congestion and alleviate traffic during non-recurring incidents on the I-710 freeway by establishing multi-agency collaboration through an integrated approach by maximizing and integrating system operations on the I-710 freeway and adjacent routes.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board may elect not to award this contract for the project. Staff does not recommend this alternative because it is not consistent with the Board's direction to pursue Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) funding and advance construction of the I-710 ICM Project and also jeopardizes $27,840,000 in State TCEP funds awarded to the project.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
In March 2025, Metro will request construction funding allocation from the California Transportation Commission (CTC) Board. The General Contractor will be procured through a separate solicitation, and staff will return to the Board in Spring 2025 for the contract award. Construction is scheduled to begin in the Summer of 2025.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Eva Moir, Senior Manager, Shared Mobility, (213) 922-2961
Edward Alegre, Deputy Executive Officer, Shared Mobility, (213) 418-3287
Steven Gota, Executive Officer, Shared Mobility, (213) 922-3043
Shahrzad Amiri, Deputy Chief Operations Officer, Shared Mobility, (213) 922-3061
Debra Avila, Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 418-3051
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, Transit Operations, (213) 922-2920
