Passenger Trains > SMART announces new construction contract .

SMART Awards Key Construction Contract
Petaluma, CA – Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) announced today that it has selected Shimmick Construction Company as the design-build contractor for its next major construction contract. The $68.7 million contract includes several key elements of the continuing work on Phase 1 of the rail and pathway project:
 Design and construction of track from Civic Center Drive to the downtown station site in San Rafael
 Strengthening of the Puerto Suello Tunnel in San Rafael  Integration of the vehicular traffic control system in downtown San Rafael  Installation of the rolling leaf bascule bridge to replace the existing Haystack Bridge
over the Petaluma river  Seven segments of the SMART Pathway in Sonoma and Marin that have completed
environmental clearances, totaling approximately 3 1⁄4 miles  Construction of the Operations & Maintenance Facility which will house vehicle
storage and maintenance, dispatch and train operations and systems  Station platform finishes – platform tops, access ramps and stairs, shelters, lighting,
seating, etc.
“Progress has been rapid since we started construction in the summer of 2012,” stated Judy Arnold, SMART board chair and president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. “This contract will deliver most of the remaining infrastructure for starting service in 2016, and the board is especially pleased that like our first construction contract, the winning proposal is from another Bay Area contractor, delivering local jobs.”
Project progress to date includes track reconstruction from Santa Rosa to Petaluma, final steps for permits to continue track construction into Marin in the Spring, assembly in Illinois of the first train set due to start testing on the new tracks next year, signaling and communications systems design nearing completion with field installation beginning, and environmental mitigation requirements being met through the purchase of the Mira Monte Marina property within the project area.
“SMART’s taxpayers continue to benefit from high interest and competition in the construction industry, attracting multiple proposals,” said SMART Vice Chair Barbara Pahre. “And with this third construction contract, over the past 18 months SMART has awarded contracts that infuse nearly $250 million into the economy.”
Five qualified proposals were evaluated by a selection committee based first on technical criteria, and subsequently combined with pricing to produce a combined score based on the criteria described in the request for proposals. The top three firms, with proposals ranging from $74.3 to $82.5 million, were invited to participate in the Best and Final Offer step of the process.
General Manager Farhad Mansourian noted that cost savings were realized through refinement of the scope of work by SMART staff as well as negotiations with contractors, with particular attention paid to the scope of the Operations & Maintenance Facility elements without sacrificing function. “Through a rigorous process that began over a year ago and with the advantages offered by the design-build method, we’ve negotiated a contract that delivers high value for taxpayers with a final price well below initial estimates.”
Shimmick Construction, Inc. is an employee-owned firm based in Oakland. Since its incorporation in 1990, Shimmick Construction has excelled as a regional contractor with a focus on the Bay Area, earning position 183 on the Top 400 Contractor’s Engineering News Record List. Nearly 60% of its annual revenue comes from Bay Area projects, with a strong presence in the Southern California Infrastructure market as well.
Shimmick Construction has completed major projects for BART, Cal-Train, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni), the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority and the Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project. Currently, Shimmick Construction is playing a key role in design and construction of the $780 million design-build Berryessa BART Extension.
The SMART train and pathway project is currently under construction and will provide a new regional transportation backbone with improved transit options for all North Bay residents.

Photo shows NWP Schellville hauler rolling across the existing 1912 Haystack swing span over Petaluma Creek. SMART official were able to obtain a surplus modern 1985 built span for $4.2 million from the BNSF that crossed Galveston Bay after the U.S. Coast Guard ordered the channel widen necessitating a longer span. The bridge was dismantled and put into six gondola cars that now rest at the old Napa Pipe Plant where the bridge will be reconstructed and then barge to the site for installation. Photo and bridge text by Mike Pechner

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Thanks for the update.

Will the new bridge allow for a double-track mainline, or will it be single track?

Nathan

Single track.

Mike... Thanks for the update and good photo. Too bad photoshop doesn't have an "anise filter". I grew up in the north bay, and had to cut that stuff back from our yard every spring to meet fire regs. That was a pain!

Posted from iPhone

MarsLight Wrote:
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> Mike... Thanks for the update and good photo. Too
> bad photoshop doesn't have an "anise filter". I
> grew up in the north bay, and had to cut that
> stuff back from our yard every spring to meet fire
> regs. That was a pain!

Anise filter... That was so funny I split my pants! Thank you, MarsLight, for making me split my pants! ;-)

Tor in Eugene