The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has approved construction of the $653 million Eastridge to BART Regional Connector project in San Jose, California. A joint venture of Sacramento-based MCM Construction and New York City-based RailWorks Corp. was selected March 7. build the project, with a winning bid of $437.1 million.
The bid was the lowest, but was still about $120 million above the project’s estimate, according to the authority.
The 2.4-mile connector, formerly known as the Capitol Expressway Light Rail Project, extends light rail from the Alum Rock Light Rail Station to the Eastridge Transit Center, with an elevated guideway primarily in the center of the Capitol Expressway. The expansion will include an elevated light rail station accessed by a pedestrian crossing and an at-grade station at the Eastridge Transit Center.
When the design, bidding and construction project is complete, riders will board the light rail in downtown Eastridge and connect directly to BART at the Milpitas station.
There were two other bidders for the job: DMZ Builders with $460.7 million and Flatiron West Inc. with $494.2 million. MCM-Railworks was selected as the “lowest responsible and responsive bidder,” says Ken Ronsse, the authority’s project manager and deputy director of rail traffic engineering and facilities.
Ronsse says the joint ventures’ bid above estimate is largely due to the fact that there are more than 500 bid items included in the construction contract.
“As major construction contracts have experienced across the country, there is volatility in construction bids given the need for contractors to commit to labor, material and equipment costs over several years or the construction duration,” he says. “For many items, the upward trend in material and labor costs is constant. However, for some items, such as concrete and electricity, the construction industry is still affected by supply chain constraints and inflation rate fluctuations. These fluctuations resulted in the difference between the VTA estimate and the bids.”
Still, MCM-Railworks managed to cut the project schedule significantly, Ronsse says, with the length of the schedule as part of the bidding process.
The authority did not allow more than 1,600 days to complete the construction. “MCM-Railworks committed to complete the work in 1,250 days, meaning it can be built 350 days before [the agency] would have allowed the bid,” he says. “The contractor is able to shorten the duration given their experience with large bridge projects and the efficiency they bring to the job.”
The Eastridge Regional Connector to BART project is the final phase of the larger Capitol Expressway transit improvement project that transforms the expressway into a multi-modal expressway, offering bus rapid transit, light rail and secure connections to the regional transit system.
Phase 1 of the project, completed in 2012, improved safety measures on the expressway and included new sidewalks, street lighting and a landscaping buffer. It also included the reconstruction of the transit center, completed in 2015.
The project is currently in final design, with the third authority securing the right-of-way along the corridor to move underground utilities and PG&E towers along the freeway.
Once public services are relocated this summer, construction on the light rail extension can begin. It is expected to last until 2028, with revenue service expected in 2029.
