Meeting_Body
AD HOC CONGESTION, HIGHWAY AND ROADS COMMITTEE
JUNE 21, 2018
Subject
SUBJECT: FREIGHT ADVANCED TRAVELER INFORMATION
SYSTEM (FRATIS) MODERNIZATION
Action
ACTION: AWARD CONTRACT
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to award a four year, firm fixed price Contract No. PS48950000 to Cambridge Systematics, Inc. for professional services in an amount not to exceed $5,489,479.96, for the Freight Advanced Traveler Information System (FRATIS) Modernization project, subject to resolution of protest(s), if any.
Issue
ISSUE
In October 2017, staff informed the Board that Metro received a grant through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Program. On December 15, 2017, Metro entered into a cooperative agreement with FHWA and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to secure the grant funds. Funds were authorized in March 2018. Upon approval by the Board, staff will execute the contract with the consultant and formally initiate the planning phase of the project.
Background
BACKGROUND
The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB) collectively comprise the largest goods movement complex in North America, handling 40 percent of the nation’s import traffic and 25 percent of the nation’s export traffic. This volume of freight and the associated truck traffic is expected to more than double by 2035, resulting in severe congestion problems, including truck trip delays in and near the ports, as well as general traffic congestion on metropolitan area highways and arterials. This increased truck traffic and roadway congestion also generates negative regional impacts on air quality, noise, safety, and economic competitiveness.
Due to this congestion and air quality issues, Metro and Gateway Cities Council of Governments (GCCOG), identified drayage optimization applications, such as FRATIS, as a top priority to increase the efficiency of container movement. FRATIS provides trucking companies the ability to efficiently plan daily container pick-ups and drop-offs at the ports. These applications can reduce truck congestion, improve air quality, and lower the use of fossil fuel in the Los Angeles region. FHWA has invested in two pilot projects for FRATIS in POLA and POLB in the past five years.
In June 2016, Metro Highway Program applied for the ATCMTD Program grants to expand and enhance FRATIS. In October 2016, Metro was selected as one of the eight successful national recipients for the ATCMTD Program funds. As part of this project, Metro is seeking to modernize and enhance the FRATIS platform that has been developed to date and explore connected vehicle technologies for freight trucks. Metro plans to leverage the concepts from previous phases of FRATIS to modernize and enhance the FRATIS platform and increase the number of active marine terminal operators (MTOs), trucking companies, and other stakeholder users. The enhancement of FRATIS will result in more efficient movement of goods in and around the ports and along the I-710 South corridor. Evaluation of FRATIS has demonstrated a reduction in trip time, reduction in stop time, and improvement in trip time reliability.
The project will follow the systems engineering process, as required by FHWA for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and technology projects. The selected contractor will prepare all the necessary reports, designs, and tests identified in the systems engineering requirements for review and approval by FHWA and Caltrans. Staff anticipates the project will take approximately 24 months for deployment and 24 months of performance monitoring and evaluation.
The FRATIS project is identified in the Board approved Measure R I-710 South Early Action project list in the amount of $3,000,000, which is being used as the matching funds for the ATCMTD Program grant. The total project budget, including the ATCMTD grant, is $6,000,000.
Metro, FHWA, and Caltrans entered into a cooperative agreement on December 15, 2017 to secure the grant funds and identify Metro’s responsibilities. In addition, Metro obtained Authorization to Proceed (E-76) on March 8, 2018.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of this item will have no adverse impact on the safety of Metro’s patrons and employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding for the FRATIS project will be comprised of $3,000,000 from FHWA ATCMTD Program grant matched with $3,000,000 in Measure R I-710 South Early Action funds for a total project budget of $6,000,000. For FY19, $800,000 has been budgeted in Project 460316 (I-710 South Early Action Projects), Cost Center 4740 (Highway Program ITS), Account 50316 (Prof Tech Services).
Since this is a multi-year project, the Project Manager, the Cost Center Manager, and the Senior Executive Officer, Program Management - Highway Program will be responsible for budgeting costs in future years up to the approved Life of Project budget.
Impact to Budget:
The source of funds for the Project is Measure R Highway Capital (20%) funds and FHWA ATCMTD Program funds. These funds are not eligible for bus or rail operations and are specific for this project. No other funds were considered.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
No other practical alternative is available. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and the ATCMTD program have strict reporting requirements on the progress of the grant project. In addition, the cooperative agreement states that the project will be deployed and operated by July 2020. Delaying contract award would impact the implementation of the project, and may lead to the deobligation of the federal grant funds.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon approval by the Board, staff will execute the contract with Cambridge Systematics, Inc. and begin the planning studies and stakeholder coordination for the project.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Edward Alegre, Senior Manager, (213) 418-3287
Steven Gota, Deputy Executive Officer, (213) 922-3043
Abdollah Ansari, Senior Executive Officer, (213) 922-4781
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Debra Avila, Chief Vendor/Contract Management Officer, (213) 418-3051
Richard F. Clarke, Chief Program Management Officer, (213) 922-7557
