Women, minorities own 16 subcontractors working on Central Corridor LRT project

Contact:
Laura Baenen
Central Corridor LRT Project
Communications Manager
651-602-1797 office
612-269-4365 cell
Laura.baenen@metc.state.mn.us

ST. PAUL – December 17, 2007 - Sixteen women-owned and minority-owned subcontractors, including 13 based in the Twin Cities and three that worked on the Hiawatha LRT line, are working on the Central Corridor LRT Project.

More women-owned and minority-owned subcontractors will be hired when construction begins in 2010 on the biggest one-time public works project in state history.

Eleven of the first 16 subcontractors are working for New York-based engineering firm DMJM Harris, which has tackled complex light rail projects nationwide. DMJM Harris is providing preliminary engineering, final design and design support services for the Metropolitan Council, which is leading the design and construction of the project with the state Department of Transportation. The other five work for HDR Engineering Inc., which will complete the project’s final environmental impact statement by next fall.

DMJM Harris’ contract, which has a total value of nearly $91 million, and HDR’s $3.2 million contract have a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise participation goal of 17 percent, meeting the target established by the Met Council’s Office of Diversity.

The DBE program is intended to ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of federally funded transit-related contracts. In general, to be eligible for the DBE program, persons must own 51 percent or more of a "small business", establish that they are disadvantaged within the meaning of the regulations and prove they control their business. They must have a personal net worth of less than $750,000.

The 11 DBE subcontractors working for DMJM Harris are:

4RM+ULA (pronounced formula), St. Paul
Connetics Transportation Group, Lake Mary, Fla.
HZ United, Plymouth
LKG-CMC Inc., Glendale, Calif.
Mass Transit Consultants, Maple Grove
Meyer Contracting, Minneapolis (also worked on Hiawatha LRT project)
Minnesota GeoServices, St. Paul
MP Consultants, Plymouth
Progressive Consulting Engineers, Minneapolis
Rani Engineering, St. Paul (also worked on Hiawatha LRT project)
TriUnity Engineering & Management Inc., Centennial, Colo.

The five DBE subcontractors working for HDR are:

Biko Associates, Minneapolis
EVS, Eden Prairie (worked on Hiawatha LRT project)
Franz Reprographics, Brooklyn Center
Hess, Roise & Co., Minneapolis
Vedi Associates Inc., Minneapolis

Preliminary engineering will help the Met Council decide issues such as exactly where stations should be and how to reduce the $930 million estimated pricetag to meet the federal cost-effectiveness index so the project can receive federal approval in 2009. The federal government will pay 50 percent of the construction costs. The other 50 percent will be paid by the state (33 percent), Ramsey County (12 percent) and Hennepin County (5 percent).

DMJM Harris, a leader in the transportation and infrastructure industry, has handled other light rail projects, including ones in southern New Jersey, Dallas and Los Angeles. HDR of Omaha, Neb., is an architectural, engineering and consulting firm specializing in transit planning and engineering, with more than 140 locations worldwide, including five offices in Minnesota.

Central Corridor LRT Project

The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Project linking downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis via Washington and University avenues would be the third in a planned network of rail and bus ``transitways’’ in the Twin Cities. Construction would begin in 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, with service beginning in 2014. The line would connect with the Hiawatha LRT line at the Metrodome station in Minneapolis and the soon-to-be built Northstar commuter rail line at the new Minneapolis multimodal station. The Metropolitan Council would be the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with leading the design and building of the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, provides advice and oversight.

The Central Corridor LRT Project’s website is www.centralcorridor.org

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