Seattle’s public transit agency, Sound Transit, has awarded a joint venture of UK-headquartered Mott MacDonald and Canada’s SNC-Lavalin a contract to manage the first phase of a light railway, the agency’s biggest design-build contract to date.
To combat traffic congestion in the US west coast city, the plan is to build a $1bn, 7.8-mile extension of an existing regional light railway with three elevated stations, to be called the Federal Way Link Extension.
In their joint venture Mott MacDonald and SNC-Lavalin will manage the pre-construction period up to the award of the design-build contract. The project is scheduled to enter construction in 2019.
The pair are expected to provide project management services when construction starts, as well, SNC-Lavalin said in a press notice.
Services to be rendered include resident engineering, project controls and scheduling, change management, technical support and inspection, and quality assurance and quality control activities.
The new line will extend Seattle’s light railway south from Angle Lake in the City of SeaTac to the Federal Way Transit Center by 2024.
Sound Transit says that by 2035, Federal Way Link will carry up to 39,500 riders each weekday through one of the most congested travel corridors in the region.
The extension will provide a 46-minute trip between Federal Way and downtown Seattle regardless of traffic conditions.
"This contract builds on the many years of solid design, project management, and construction management services that Mott MacDonald has provided to Sound Transit," said Nick DeNichilo, President and CEO of Mott MacDonald in North America.
Image: Sound Transit’s existing light rail in action now in Seattle (Sound Transit)
