TRINITY METRO TEXRAIL

PROJECT OVERVIEW .

TEXRail Commuter Rail System

27-mile, 9-station commuter rail system connecting downtown Fort Worth with the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport.

TEXRail connects downtown Fort Worth with the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, providing access to major activity/employment centers along the corridor. The commuter rail system is designed to connect other local, regional and national transportation services including Trinity Railway Express (TRE), Amtrak, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) at DFW and an extensive bus network at the Intermodal Transportation Center. Service is projected to have a daily ridership of 13,698 people in the Horizon Travel Forecast year 2035.

TEXRail also involves the purchase of eight diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicles for FRA certified operations; and a new Equipment Maintenance Facility with a dispatching center for TEXRail and the TRE trains.

Bowman was a major subconsultant to CH2M providing program management and construction management services for this $1B commuter rail project.

Program Management Consultant

CH2M and Bowman led the Program Management Team. As the PMC, CH2M and Bowman served as an integrated extension of FWTAs staff in managing all project related activities associated with the implementation of this 27-mile rail system that is being delivered via the alternative Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) model.

Program Governance: CH2M and Bowman partnered with FWTA to establish the framework for communication, coordination, documentation, decision-making, quality, design/constructability reviews, change control processes and issue resolution to facilitate cohesive project implementation among all parties.

Schedule/Delivery Model Change: The original TEXRail schedule was based on a design-build delivery method which was truncated due to delay in Federal project approval. Schedule recovery mitigation resulted in CM/GC project delivery, allowing design to proceed concurrently with meeting Federal environmental requirements. Bowman developed the CM/GC procurement solicitation and coordinated the contract with FWTA’s legal team.

Project Funding: During the earlier phases of the program, Bowman and CH2M prepared TEXRail’s New Starts annual updates for Federal Funding under the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts program, leading to recommendations in the President’s Budget for FY15 and FY16. To mitigate a five-month delay Bowman developed a LONP strategy in which the FTA approved two broad and innovative Letter of No Prejudices (LONPs), which allowed FWTA to start construction in earnest in advance of receiving the FFGA. This saved valuable time in the schedule.

Through CH2M and Bowman’s assistance, FWTA was able to secure a $499 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) from FTA in December 2016. The FFGA closed the funding gap needed to implement this $1.034 billion rail system.

Third Party Coordination

DFW Airport: Bowman led discussions and agreement with DFW Airport for the Easement appraisal, Compensation Agreement, License Agreement and Operating Agreement. Bowman also championed an effort to study design impacts of DFW cross-taxiways concepts and value engineer an alignment profile though a remote parking lot to eliminate a proposed tunnel and save $10 million.
Union Pacific Railroad: Bowman was part of FWTA’s negotiation team with UPRR and the successful negotiation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) property acquisition, and the Construction and Maintenance Agreement.
Fort Worth Western Railroad: Bowman was part of FWTA’s negotiation team with Fort Worth Western Railroad and the successful negotiation of the FTWA-FWWR Comprehensive Agreement.
Utility Relocations: Bowman assisted the Subcontractor in charge of utility relocations by negotiating the agreements with Atmos Gas, Oncor Electric, and AT&T, preparing and facilitating Board actions and approvals, and developing tools for monitoring progress.

Diesel Multiple Unit Vehicles: Bowman assisted in developing the procurement solicitation and managed the procurement for the DMU vehicle. The STADLER FLIRT was the selected vehicle and will be the first Buy America Compliant DMU Vehicle assembled in the United States and was the main attraction at the recent APTA Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.

Pre-Construction Services Phase: Bowman managed the pre-construction services effort for Guideway and Station CM/GC Contract including the constructability reviews, value engineering, and Bowman led the successful negotiation of the lump sum contract approximately $35 million under the Contractors second price proposal. The negotiation phase was a true partnering effort with the CM/GC contract through which our joint team developed and implemented $13 million in value engineering ideas involving retaining walls and utilities.

Construction Management: Bowman and CH2M led the construction management for the Guideway and Station CM/GC Contract and the Equipment Maintenance Facility Contract and overcame several challenges with delayed utility relocations, contractor submittal approvals by third parties, design issues, and contractor schedule management.

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