The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has signed up design, engineering and management consultancy CH2M to provide highway program project delivery support services that will enhance transportation infrastructure in the most populated county in the USA.
CH2M will help Metro address some of the region’s most pressing transportation challenges, through a range of on-call task orders including:
• Producing design plans, specifications, estimates, studies, reports, and other technical documents;
• Independent review and oversight of environmental design, including traffic, structures, electrical, and drainage contract plans;
• Development and management of databases for schedule, cost and quality control, risk assessments, and management studies and plans.
CH2M also brings additional expertise in highway funding, emerging technologies, alternative project delivery, and sustainable design to advance Metro’s highway capital project planning and development process. Metro’s recently approved Los Angeles County traffic improvement plan, Measure M, will guide many of the projects included under the contract. In continuation of an over 30-year partnership with Metro and its predecessor agencies, CH2M’s roadway and project delivery services on these projects will support overall Measure M goals, including easing traffic congestion, improving system connectivity and resiliency, and supporting economic growth in southern California.
Drivers in LA County currently spend an average of 81 hours a year stuck in traffic. There are 10.2m people living in the county, and that figure is projected to grow by 2.3m people in the next 40 years. Traffic congestion and air pollution are expected to get worse with more growth, and Measure M is intended to raise money to meet those needs, while it is also expected to generate an estimated US$860m a year.
The goals of Metro’s Measure M are to:
• Ease traffic congestion, improve freeway traffic flow, and reduce bottlenecks;
• Expand rail and rapid transit systems by accelerating rail construction, enhancing local, regional, and express bus services, and improve system connectivity;
• Repave local streets, repair potholes, synchronize traffic signals, improve neighborhood streets and intersections, and enhance bike and pedestrian connections;
• Make public transportation more accessible, convenient, and affordable for seniors, students, and the disabled, and provide better mobility options for an aging population;
• Earthquake-retrofit bridges, and keep the transit and highway system safe and in good working condition;
• Embrace technology and innovation, by incorporating modern technology, new advancements, and emerging innovations into the local transportation system;
• Create jobs, reduce pollution, and generate local economic benefits to increase personal time and overall quality of life;
• Provide accountability and transparency by protecting and monitoring the public’s investments through independent audits and oversight.
“It is an honor to continue to work alongside Metro on many of its key transportation improvement initiatives in Los Angeles County,” said Bryan Nicol, CH2M’s highways and bridges director. “With continued population growth expected in Los Angeles in the coming years, these improvements will not only keep Angelenos on the move, but also ensure long-term economic vitality and a higher quality of life.”
