Infra Insight Blog : written by Nossaman LLP Infrastructure attorneys, covers infrastructure project delivery, including Public-Private Partnerships, Operations & Management Agreements, policy, and news.

The Port of Long Beach and Caltrans have selected a team led by Shimmick Construction Company, Inc., FCC Construction S.A., and Impregilo S.p.A. as the apparent “best value” proposer for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project design-build contract.  The Shimmick team had both the highest technical score and, at $649.5 million, the lowest proposal price to replace the existing span linking Interstate 710 to the Port of Long Beach.

The Port and Caltrans are jointly procuring the design-build portion of this project through California’s Design-Build Demonstration Program.  In addition to the Port and Caltrans, funding partners for the project include the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and United States Department of Transportation.  The Port expects construction activities to start in early 2013.

For more information regarding the apparent “best value” proposal selection, see this press release from the Port of Long Beach.
 
Patrick Harder co-authored this entry. 

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In a decision of importance to transportation projects throughout California, the California Court of Appeal rejected environmental challenges to the $1.5 billion extension of the Exposition Corridor light rail line in Los Angeles.  Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority (2012) __ Cal.App.4th __ (April 17, 2012, B232655).  The decision is cause for optimism, not only for transportation agencies, but for all Californians who stand to benefit from transportation projects designed to reduce air emissions and traffic congestion.  Nossaman represented the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority in the litigation.

Among many other challenges, the project opponents challenged the Expo Authority’s use a future “baseline” to determine the significance of traffic and air quality impacts arguing that the use of a future projected baseline would result in a comparison of the project’s impacts with “hypothetical” future conditions.  The Court of Appeal rejected the opponents’ argument noting that as “a major transportation infrastructure project that will not even begin to operate until 2015 at the earliest, its impact on presently existing traffic and air quality conditions will yield no practical information to decision makers or the public.”

Project opponents throughout the nation are challenging the use of future conditions to evaluate traffic and air quality impacts.  In 2010 a California Court invalidated the approval of a road project where the lead agency used opening day conditions to evaluate traffic impacts.  The Court in Neighbors for Smart Rail declined to follow the reasoning of the earlier court decision.

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On April 26, 2012, the Texas Department of Transportation (“TxDOT”) announced the shortlist for the proposed IH 35E Managed Lanes Project in Dallas and Denton Counties.  The shortlisted teams were selected based on qualification statements submitted on March 23, 2012 in response to the request for qualifications (“RFQ”) issued by TxDOT on January 23, 2012.

The RFQ solicited separate qualification statements from teams with experience in design-build and toll concession contracting.  TxDOT decided to move forward with the design-build alternative with a capital maintenance option.  The four shortlisted teams and their respective equity members are:

AGL Constructors
-  Archer Western Contractors, LLC
-  Granite Construction Company
-  The LANE Construction Company

Dallas to Denton Constructors
-  Zachry Construction Corporation
-  SNC-Lavalin Inc.

IH 35E Infrastructure
-  Ferrovial Agromán S.A.
-  Webber, LLC
-  Texas Sterling Construction Co.

Northern Link Constructors
-  Fluor Enterprises, Inc.
-  Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc.
-  Kiewit Infrastructure South. Co.

IH 35E serves the rapidly growing areas of southern and central Denton County, as well as major Dallas suburbs.  Since it opened as part of the original national interstate program almost 50 years ago, the northern portion of the corridor has been under a constant state of maintenance, upgrade, expansion, evaluation, planning, design and construction.

On February 23, 2012, TxDOT announced the shortlist for the Grand Parkway Project Design-Build Project and on March 29, 2012, TxDOT announced the shortlist for the Horseshoe Design-Build Project.

Sid Jiménez co-authored this entry.

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On April 23, 2012, the Indiana Finance Authority (“IFA”), in coordination with the Indiana Department of Transportation, shortlisted four teams for its East End Crossing (Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project) (the “East End Crossing”) located in Southern Indiana.

The East End Crossing is part of the broader “Ohio River Bridges Project” in the greater Louisville, Kentucky/Southern Indiana region.  Specifically, the Ohio River Bridges Project will consist in improvements to connecting roadways, but most prominently, provide two new toll bridges across the Ohio River:  the “Downtown Bridge” – a new bridge carrying I-65 and upstream on the Ohio River from the existing Kennedy Bridge – and the “East End Bridge” – also a new bridge connecting I-265/KY 841 with S.R. 265 in Indiana.  The Ohio River Bridges Project also features several multi-modal improvements to increase transportation choices for area residents, including enhanced bus service and pedestrian and bicycle trails and pathways.

The East End Crossing project involves construction of the East End Bridge and approaches on both the Kentucky and Indiana sides of the Ohio River.  The selected proposer will develop, design, build, finance, operate and maintain the East End Crossing through an availability payment concession.
The shortlisted teams, in alphabetical order, are:

• East End Mobility Partners (joint venture of SNC-Lavalin Capital, John Laing Investments Limited and Zachry Resources, Inc.), teaming with Tutor Perini Corporation, Zachry Construction Corporation and SNC-Lavalin Transportation USA, Inc. collaborating as the design-builder, with Frontier Kemper Constructors Inc., ARUP USA, Inc. and Daelim Industrial Co, Ltd., among others.
• Ohio River Mobility Group (joint venture of ACS Infrastructure Development, Inc., Hochtief PPP Solutions North America, Inc. and Skanska Infrastructure Development, Inc.), teaming with Skanska USA Civil Southeast, Inc., Flatiron Constructors, Inc. and Dragados USA, Inc. as the builders, with URS Corporation and T.Y. Lin International as the designers, and with others.
• Ohio River Transportation Partners (joint venture of InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, Balfour Beatty Capital and Kiewit Development Company), teaming with Ohio River Transportation Constructors East as the joint-venture builder (Kiewit Infrastructure Co., Traylor Bros., Inc., Massman Construction Co. and Kokosing Construction Company, Inc.), with Ohio River Transportation Designers as the joint-venture design team (HNTB Corporation and Parsons Brinkerhoff), and with others.
• WVB East End Partners (joint venture of Walsh Investors, LLC, VINCI Concessions S.A.S. and Bilfinger Berger PI International Holding GmbH), teaming with Walsh Construction Company and VINCI Construction Grand Projets as the builders, with Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. as the designer, and with others.

IFA plans to issue a final RFP in late July, 2012 with award and execution of the comprehensive public-private partnership agreement by year’s end.

John Smolen co-authored this entry.

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The Virginia Department of Transportation and Elizabeth River Crossings Opco LLC (“ERC”) reached financial close on a toll concession public-private partnership ("PPP") for the $2.1 billion Midtown Tunnel Project.  It is the first United States transportation PPP to reach financial close in 2012 and will include construction of a new Midtown Tunnel, rehabilitating the existing Midtown and Downtown Tunnels, extending Martin Luther King Boulevard and will provide much needed transportation improvements and congestion relief to motorists in the Hampton Roads region.  Construction will begin in Fall 2012 and completion is expected in 2018.

Under the Public-Private Transportation Act, the Virginia DOT will continue ownership of the Project elements and oversee ERC's activities.  ERC will finance, build, operate and maintain the facilities for a 58-year concession period and also assumes risk of delivering the project on a performance-based, fixed-price, fixed-date contract, protecting users and taxpayers from construction cost overruns and delays. 

The Project will involve tolling of the existing and newly-constructed assets with tolls initially ranging from $1.59 to $1.84 per car for the tunnels and $.50 for the MLK Extension for tunnel users and $1 for non-tunnel users.  This is approximately 40 percent lower than the $2.89 toll rate estimated under the interim agreement signed in January 2010 before Governor Bob McDonnell took office.  Additional financing includes a $422 million TIFIA loan, $663.75 million of private activity bonds and $310 million in public contribution from Virginia DOT.  ERC, a joint venture of Macquarie and Skanska, will contribute up to $272 million in equity.

The Midtown Tunnel Project was a priority of the region’s leaders and is the largest transportation project to get under way in almost 30 years.  More than 500 jobs will support the construction efforts and another 1,000 jobs in other sectors of the local economy.  The Project is anticipated to cut round-trip travel time by 30 minutes a day and improve safety, reliability and connectivity to the region’s transportation network.

Click here to learn more about this Project.

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The Arizona Legislature sent to Gov. Jan Brewer on April 4, 2012 the landmark bill HB 2491, creating state-of-the-art toll collection and enforcement authority for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

The bill follows on the heels of the state’s enactment of its public-private partnership (P3) law two years ago.  While that law authorizes tolling, it lacked the enforcement mechanisms needed for effective open road electronic tolling, essential to modern toll road financing and operations. 

HB 2491 includes a three-notice system, increasing charges for delayed payment, an administrative hearing process, and a panoply of means to enforce collection, including license suspension and denial, vehicle registration denial, and towing and impoundment.

The P3 law included the right of toll road users to obtain refunds of fuel taxes on fuel consumed using tolled facilities.  This unusual and administratively impractical provision, backed by the trucking industry, was repealed by HB 2491.  In exchange, the trucking industry accepted a provision limiting the toll enforcement law to new transportation facilities, which could include new tolled lanes.

Arizona does not yet have tolled transportation facilities.  ADOT is considering a potential P3 for a tolled bypass facility at the Nogales border crossing, and the Maricopa Association of Governments is actively studying a managed lanes system for the Phoenix metropolitan area, which could include conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lanes.

Nossaman assisted ADOT in drafting the legislation.

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On March 30, 2012, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)  shortlisted four teams for its I-77 HOT Lanes Project located in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg area.

The I-77 HOT Lanes Project is the first road transportation infrastructure project under a pubic-private partnership (P3) delivery model in North Carolina and will set the precedent for the use of P3s to implement HOT lanes projects in the state.  NCDOT anticipates that partnership with the private sector, and the innovative funding strategies that private sector funding brings, will more quickly and more efficiently bring this project to completion and introduce new approaches to managing a traffic corridor in a region of the state that has seen tremendous growth and with it heavy commuter congestion.  NCDOT invites the contemporary dynamic tolling technology within the HOT lanes approach, which it anticipates will improve corridor safety and reduce what has been an elevated number of secondary crashes during peak hour congestion.

The project consists of three sections: Central Section, South Section, and North Section.   The project will involve the conversion of existing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to high-occupancy toll ("HOT") lanes, and the addition of HOT lanes along the I-77 corridor.  The chosen team will develop, design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the Project through a toll concession agreement.

The shortlisted teams are:

• The Charlotte Access Mobility Group (ACS Infrastructure Development, Inc. and InfraRed Capital Partners Limited), partnering with Dragados U.S.A., Inc. and United Infrastructures Group, Inc., as the joint-venture builder with Florence & Hutcheson, Inc. as the designer.
• Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A., partnering with Ferrovial Agroman, S.A. and W.C. English, Inc., as the joint-venture builder with the Louis Berger Group, Inc. as the designer.
• Metrolina Development Partners (OHL Concessiones, S.A.), partnering with the Lane Construction Corporation and Obrascón Huarte Lain, S.A., as the joint-venture builder with HDR Engineering, Inc. as the designer.
• Char-Meck Development Partners (Vinci Concessions, S.A.S.), partnering with Archer Western Constructors, L.L.C. and Blythe Construction, Inc., as the joint-venture builder with Parsons Transportation Group as the designer.

The anticipated procurement schedule is for issuance of the final request for proposals in the second quarter of 2012 with award and execution of the comprehensive P3 agreement by year’s end.

Simon Santiago co-authored this entry.

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On March 30, 2012, the Arizona Department of Transportation issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) soliciting statements of qualifications from prospective private and/or public entities for development and implementation of a public-private partnership (P3) for ADOT facilities on a new site to replace the current ADOT and MVD facilities located in Flagstaff, Arizona. The RFQ represents the first P3 solicitation issued by ADOT through its Office of P3 Initiatives.

The objective of the project is to relocate ADOT from its current location on Milton Road to new facilities in the Flagstaff area, freeing up the Milton Road property and adjacent property owned by the City of Flagstaff for local transportation improvements and re-development.  The project allows ADOT and the City of Flagstaff to partner, putting their two parcels together in a way that adds value for the developer, allows the City to achieve higher impact redevelopment from the two parcels combined, and also enables ADOT to derive maximum value from its parcel while encouraging creative responses to its need for new facilities.

Proposers have the option to propose constructing the planned City of Flagstaff transportation improvements (Beulah Boulevard extension and University Avenue realignment) on the Milton property, or to allow the City to hire the contractor and to work around the City’s construction phases and processes. 

Statements of qualifications are due on June 6, 2012.

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On Dec. 9, 2012, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) soliciting qualifications from teams interested in entering into a design-build contract and a potential capital maintenance agreement for the Dallas Horseshoe Project.  Following a three-month process, which included questions and answers from interested industry participants, TxDOT received seven Qualification Statemelnts on Feb. 22, 2012.  Over the next month, the Qualification Statements were evaluated by TxDOT.  On March 29, 2012, TxDOT announced the short list of the teams most qualified to compete for the Horseshoe design-build contract.  Below is a listing of the shortlisted teams, along with the major equity members, that will be invited to submit detailed proposals.

TxDOT anticipates issuing an Industry Review draft Request for Proposals in April 2012 and the final Request for Proposals in early July, with the expectation that a design-build contract can be executed with the best value proposer in winter 2012-13. 

Aptly dubbed the “Horseshoe Project” due to its U-shape, the $818 million highway project will upgrade the I-30 bridge, part of the Mixmaster, and both the north and southbound I-35E bridges in one of the most congested areas in downtown Dallas. TxDOT has concluded that the use of the design-build development approach is the best way to ensure cost-effective and expedited delivery of this project and provide needed congestion relief to the public, while addressing safety and traffic congestion concerns.

This is one of several active “mega” design/build projects being pursued by TxDOT, including the Grand Parkway in the Houston area.

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Representatives from a coalition of Departments of Transportation (DOTs) across the United States have joined to send a letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner  to oppose inclusion into the House's surface transportation reauthorization bill two amendments, introduced by Senator Bingaman, to the recently passed S. 1813, entitled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). The DOTs that signed the letter include Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Texas, Kansas, Virginia, and Ohio.
 
The DOTs say the two provisions of note (specifically, section 4039 and section 104(c)(1)(C) of Title 23USC as amended by section 1105)  would remove or discourage important optional financing tools that states can use to build, maintain, and operate highway infrastructure. The letter, which can be read in full here, asks that the House not include either of these provisions in HR 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, and requests that in conference, the House stand firm against the Senate provisions and not include either in a conference report. 
 
The letter suggests that the coalition may take other joint positions on key provisions of the bill and in the process may be expected to grow its base of support.

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On March 19, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) soliciting statements of qualifications from prospective proposers to provide design-build services for intermodal parking facilities and enhancements associated with the Metro Gold Line Foothill light-rail extension. 

The project will involve the design and construction of multiple 200-plus-space parking structures and 100-plus-space surface parking lots, as well as the implementation of other amenities at the six stations included as part of the light rail extension's Pasadena-to-Azusa segment. 
 
The main parking facilities anticipated for the project include a two-level parking structure with 300 spaces in Arcadia, a four-level parking structure with 350 spaces in Monrovia, a three-level parking structure with 350 spaces in Irwindale (including the construction of retaining walls, roadway improvements, a lot for a future building and the relocation of utilities), a three-level parking structure with 200 spaces in Azusa-Citrus, a surface parking lot with 200 spaces in Azusa-Alameda, and surface parking lot with 125 spaces in Duarte.  Related intermodal enhancements are expected to include traffic signals, concrete bus pads, bus shelters, benches, retaining walls, sidewalks and ramps, enhanced crosswalks, landscaping and roadway improvements, among other items.
 
Last year, the Authority awarded a $486 million design-build contract for the 11.5 mile Pasadena-to-Azusa segment (from the Sierra Madre Villa station in the City of Pasadena to Citrus Avenue near the boundary of the City of Azusa and the City of Glendora) to a Kiewit/Parsons joint venture.  The segment is scheduled to be completed in 2015.  In 2010, the Authority awarded a separate design-build contract to Skanska for the Iconic Freeway Structure (I-210 Bridge) within the same alignment, scheduled to be completed this year.
 
A further 12.6 mile segment extending the Gold Line from Azusa to Montclair (adding six stations in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair) is currently in the final environmental review stages, with a draft EIR anticipated this year.  Once completed, a trip from Montclair to downtown Pasadena will take just over 40 minutes, and further to Los Angeles will take approximately 75 minutes. 
 
Statements of qualifications for the intermodal parking facilities and enhancements project are due on May 15, 2012.

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The national search for the position for Director, Electronic Fares Program for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is currently underway to identify top individuals to consider this newly created position. This exciting role provides leadership in support of MTC’s formidable mission that spans an array of complex electronic fare programs that impact millions of people in the region.

The Director, Electronic Fares Program will join a leadership team committed to innovation, creativity, and transforming local transportation methods through entrepreneurial ideas and practices. The top candidate will have strong communication skills complemented by a unique combination of people skills and technical expertise. This uncommon individual will be seen as both the administrative manager and the technical advisor for this important specialty operation; one who has a natural curiosity and comfort level in dealing with an organization that is continually striving to implement best practices. With an emphasis on providing outstanding customer service, as the cornerstone of this position, the Director will plan, develop and implement sound strategies and solutions in an organization that places a high value on excellence.

The first review of resumes will begin the second week of April 2012.  Interested candidates are encouraged to apply immediately or prior to April 9, 2012. Only the most highly qualified candidates will be invited for an on-site interview. Interested candidates are encouraged to email their comprehensive resume, compelling cover letter, five (5) professional references and current salary to apply@ralphandersen.com.

Candidates should be aware that references will not be contacted until mutual interest is established. Electronic submittals are strongly preferred. Alternatively, candidates may submit via regular mail or fax to:

Ralph Andersen & Associates
5800 Stanford Ranch Road, Suite #410
Rocklin, California 95765
Fax: (916) 630-4911

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On March 9, 2012, the Indiana Finance Authority, an independent instrumentality in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation, issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) soliciting statements of qualifications from prospective proposers to develop, design, build, finance, operate, and maintain a tolled bridge facility and associated roadway facilities crossing the Ohio River from Clark County in southeastern Indiana into Jefferson County, Kentucky (the “East End Crossing”) through an availability payment concession.

The East End Crossing involves the construction of the approximately 3.3-mile Gene Snyder Freeway (KY 841) approach to a new East End Bridge on the Kentucky side in Eastern Jefferson County, including an approximately 2,000-foot tunnel; the construction of an approximately 2,500-foot, 4-lane new East End Bridge (which can accommodate six lanes) located about eight miles east of downtown Louisville; and the construction of the approximately 4.1-mile Lee Hamilton Highway (SR 265) approach to the East End Bridge in Indiana.

Statements of qualifications are due on April 9, 2012.

The East End Crossing is just one of two ongoing procurement processes that make up the larger Ohio River Bridges Project to be developed in coordination with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.  Since the Ohio River Bridges Project links Indiana and Kentucky, it requires the cooperation and partnership of both states and the cities of Louisville and Jeffersonville.

Nossaman attorney Wayne Corbett authored this post.

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The Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project reached a major milestone today when it received three proposals to replace the existing span linking Interstate 710 to the Port of Long Beach.  The Port of Long Beach and Caltrans are jointly procuring the design-build portion of the project - estimated to cost roughly $750 million - through California’s Design-Build Demonstration Program.

The three teams that submitted proposals are:

• Dragados USA Inc./Flatiron West Inc/CC Myers Inc., A Joint Venture;
• Shimmick Construction Company Inc./FCC Construction S.A./Impregilo S.p.A, A Joint Venture; and
• Skanska/Traylor/Massman, A Joint Venture.

The Port and Caltrans released a Request for Proposals on Sept. 2, 2011, to the teams that were prequalified for the project. The Port expects to enter into the design-build contract by mid-summer 2012.

For more information regarding the project and the teams that submitted proposals, see this joint press release from the Port of Long Beach and Caltrans.

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