Grill of the city
Chris McGuire
vice president
AECOM
After years without a major public infrastructure project, Baltimore has several in preconstruction and early construction, including the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, McGuire says.
The Maryland Transit Administration’s light rail modernization program, Amtrak’s B&P tunnel replacement and the West Baltimore MARC station will “strain” construction resources, but also create “once-in-a-lifetime career opportunities for many.”
He says these mega-projects, which require “specialised expertise”, offer learning opportunities for local businesses. “In addition to these infrastructure projects that have large budget needs, there is a growing shortfall in the state transportation trust fund to continue funding many other projects to keep public infrastructure in good condition,” McGuire says.
While aging infrastructure will create programmatic needs in the transit market for many years, he adds, the surface transportation market “will remain sluggish unless there is legislative change to increase reliable transportation funding sources.
With legislative action, the outlook is very positive with a large portfolio of projects to come.”
