The agency charged with building the Gold Line extension today approved a contract that will build the first nine miles of track from the current terminus in Asuza to Pomona with stations in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona, where riders can transfer between the Gold Line and Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line.

The Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority will build the project and eventually turn it over to Metro, which will operate it. The Authority also included an option in the contract to extend the line to Claremont and Montclair if funding can be secured by Sept. 2021. A decision to build the project in segments was made after the initial construction bids came in higher than the funding in hand due to a variety of factors, including the area’s strong economy.

Here is the news release issued today by the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority:

Monrovia, CA –Today, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Board of Directors awarded the main design-build contract for the Foothill Gold Line light rail extension to Kiewit-Parsons, a Joint Venture. The contract includes an $805.6 million base scope for the first nine miles of the project from Glendora to Pomona, with a two-year contract option to complete the full 12.3-mile project to Montclair for a total contract amount of $1,186.9 million if additional funds are secured by September 2021. The base scope includes all elements of design and construction for the first nine-mile segment, including relocation of the existing freight track, installation of the light rail track system, four new light rail stations (in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona), improvements at 40 grade crossings (nearly half with new or renovated bridges) and much more. The contract option would extend the work of the design-build team to complete the full 12.3-mile project to Montclair and add stations in Claremont and Montclair.

“This team presented the best of both worlds; the top ranked team in all technical categories and the lowest bid price based on the formula set out in the RFP for the base scope to Pomona and contract option to Montclair,” said Construction Authority Board Chairman and Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval. “I am happy with the outcome and the selected team and applaud the significant effort staff at the Authority put into conducting this procurement. Ultimately, we had two excellent teams vying for this important project, and the best proposal won.”

Kiewit and Parsons have teamed up dozens of times in the last two decades to complete design-build projects, including successfully building the first two segments of the Foothill Gold Line project which were completed on time and under budget in 2003 and 2015 respectively. They have designed and built hundreds of major infrastructure projects in the last fifty years, and both are award-winning companies, providing world-renowned experience.

“Kiewit and Parsons both enjoy a long-time relationship with the Construction Authority, having both worked with the agency since 1999 when we began design on Phase 1 from Union Station to Pasadena. It is an honor to be chosen to continue that work east and to have a chance to work again with the hard-working and dedicated team at the Construction Authority,” said Steve McFadden, Area Manager, Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.

The Foothill Gold Line was the first Measure M-funded light rail project to break ground and is named as one of Metro’s 28 priority projects to be completed before the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the last 10 months following the Construction Authority receiving bids from all four teams initially competing for the project that were hundreds of millions of dollars above the funding secured, Metro has worked collaboratively with the Construction Authority to ensure the project would move forward and that the design-build contract could be awarded.

“Metro has made completing the Gold Line to Claremont a county priority project for many years, and today’s award is an important step to making that vision a reality,” said Metro Board Chairman and City of Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts. “While we still have work to do to ensure the line is completed to Claremont, today’s contract award ensures completion of the first project phase to Pomona. We remain steadfastly committed to delivering this transit project for taxpayers and extending the Gold Line’s mobility benefits to new San Gabriel Valley communities.”

The project will begin major construction in 2020 and take approximately five years to complete to Pomona and eight years to complete to Montclair, if the contract option is activated. It is estimated that during construction alone, the Foothill Gold Line project will create as many as 16,000 jobs and up to $2.6 billion of economic output for the region, as well as up to $1 billion in labor income and potentially $40 million in tax revenue (according to an economic study by Beacon Economics).

“It took an amazing team effort to reach this important milestone for the project,” added Sandoval. “The dedication by the Metro board and staff to the project is clear, our local state officials came through with funding earlier this year, and just last week 27 members of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments unanimously supported additional funding be allocated so today’s award could be possible. It took heavy lifting by everyone, and we at the Construction Authority are not taking that lightly. We are ready to go to work and ready to deliver another successful project for this region.”

###

About the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority – The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1998 by the California State Legislature to plan, design and build the Metro Gold Line light rail system from Union Station to Montclair, along the Foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. The agency completed the first segment from Union Station to Pasadena in 2003 and the Pasadena to Azusa segment in 2015; both on time and under budget. The agency began work on the Foothill Gold Line from Glendora to Montclair in 2003. The Glendora to Montclair project was environmentally cleared in March 2013 under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and completed advanced conceptual engineering in 2016. When completed, the extension will add new light rail stations in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair.

The project is being built in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The Los Angeles County portion will be funded mostly by Measure M, with residual funds from Measure R not used to complete the Pasadena to Azusa segment. San Bernardino County is responsible to fund their portion of the project to Montclair (in San Bernardino County). The State of California is also providing funding for the project through a TIRCP grant awarded in 2018.

Here is a video made by the Construction Authority showing the entire rail route from Azusa to Montclair: