Late night work on the "Iconic Bridge" in Arcadia that will take the Gold Line tracks from the middle of the 210 freeway to the rail right-of-way on the south side of the road. Photo by Foothill Extension Construction Authority.

Two big news items this afternoon for a key Measure R transit project, the Foothill Extension that will take the Gold Line from its current terminus for 11.5 miles to the Azusa/Glendora border:

1. After months of negotiations, the Foothill Extension Construction Authority has reached an agreement to purchase land in Monrovia needed for a rail/maintenance yard for the Gold Line.

The timing is good. The Construction Authority — an independent agency building the project — needed to have the land in order to receive Measure R funds from Metro.

2. Foothill Extension staff on Friday recommended awarding the contract to build the line to a Kiewit – Parsons Joint Venture. The Board of Directors that oversees the Construction Authority is scheduled to vote on the $485.8-million contract at its meeting on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at Arcadia City Hall.

Attentive readers will recall that Kiewit oversaw work last weekend partially demolishing the Mulholland Drive Bridge over the 405 — a job  finished 17-plus hours ahead of schedule. Construction work on the rail bridge over the eastbound 210 began earlier this summer and work in earnest on the rest of the line is scheduled to begin in 2012 with a projected completion date of 2015.

I’ve posted both news releases from the Construction Authority after the jump.

Critical Agreement Completed for Purchase of City-Owned Land Needed for Light Rail Extension’s Maintenance and Operations Facility

Monrovia – Today, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority announced an agreement had been reached for the purchase of 14-acres owned by the City of Monrovia and its’ Redevelopment Agency. The land is needed for the light rail extension from Pasadena to Azusa’s maintenance and operations facility. The site was selected for the facility earlier this year by the Construction Authority board and negotiations had been taking place for the land over the last several months.

“This agreement was critical to keeping the project on schedule and could not have come at a better time” said Construction Authority CEO Habib F. Balian. “Owning half of the land for the M&O facility is the final condition needing to be met before significant funds could be transferred to the Authority to build the project.”

Although earlier this year the Authority and City had come close to an agreement for the land, over the last several months negotiations became more complicated following the filing of a lawsuit against the city by a private property owner. However, over the last few weeks of negotiations, the Authority and City worked through their differences and were able to come to consensus on all key issues.

The Construction Authority board is scheduled to consider the proposed transaction at its’ July 27 meeting and the Monrovia City Council will consider it in September (following its’ Redevelopment Agency’s reinstatement, pursuant to the recently enacted State budget). The Authority board will also consider award of the design-build contract to complete the light rail extension from Pasadena to Azusa at their July 27 meeting.

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The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Recommends Kiewit-Parsons Joint Venture as Selected Contractor for 11.5-mile Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa Board of Directors to consider recommendation and award of contract on July 27

MONROVIA – Today, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority published the agenda and staff reports for the July 27 special board meeting. On the agenda is consideration of the contract award for the Phase 2A Alignment Design-Build Contract which will result in final design and construction of the 11.5-mile extension of the Metro Gold Line light rail line from Pasadena to Azusa. The staff report includes the formal staff recommendation by Construction Authority CEO Habib F. Balian. Mr. Balian has recommended Foothill Transit Constructors – A Kiewit-Parsons Joint Venture as the contractor for this significant design-build project.

“The Kiewit-Parsons Joint Venture scored highest technically and had the lowest bid, providing the best value” said Mr. Balian. “They were a strong team from the beginning, listened to our feedback, and continued to improve their proposal throughout the process.”

The recommendation was the culmination of more than six months of evaluation and interaction with each of the three short-listed teams. Foothill Transit Constructors – A Kiewit-Parsons Joint Venture produced the highest rankings in all technical evaluation categories, as well as an overall financial proposal of $485.8 million -$78.2 million and $123 million below their competitors.

“We were impressed by the technical approach Kiewit-Parsons brought to the table” said Mr. Balian. “Every revised proposal provided a level of understanding of the project and how best to build it that truly separated them from a pool of seasoned, successful teams. The fact that they also came in nearly $80 million below the next highest bidder solidified their standing as the strongest team.”

Kiewit was the lead team member on Phase 1 of the line from Los Angeles to Pasadena (with Parsons as the lead design subcontractor), which was completed in 2003 on time and under budget. Additionally, this recommendation comes on the heals of Kiewit’s recent success on the demolition of the Mulholland Bridge (part of the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvement Project). Coined by the media as “Carmageddon” for its potential impacts to Los Angeles’ heavily congested traffic corridor, the demolition was completed by Kiewit Pacific 17 hours ahead of schedule.

The Construction Authority board will consider awarding the design-build contract at their July 27 board meeting being held at 9:30 a.m. at the Arcadia City Hall – Council Chambers, 240 W. Huntington Dr. Arcadia, CA 91007. The contract award will be considered during the second section of the meetings, which will start after 10:30 a.m.