The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) Board of Commissioners has awarded a Delivery Partner (DP) contract to MPA Delivery Partners, a Joint Venture of Parsons Corporation, Arcadis of New York, Inc. and Mace North America Limited, for the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP).
GDC will maintain oversight over all elements of the HTP. MPA Delivery Partners will provide project management support in key areas, including interface risk management, cost and schedule assurance, safety and quality management and innovation and value engineering. MPA Delivery Partners will also provide construction management support in the form of field management and safety, quality and compliance support.
The HTP will improve capacity, reliability and resiliency of commuter and intercity rail transit on the busiest section of the Northeast Corridor, which serves 800,000 daily passengers from Washington, D.C., to New York, N.Y., New Jersey and New England, Mass. A milestone project supported by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the project is slated to receive nearly $12 billion in federal funding, the largest investment in a mass transit project in modern history.
The project includes construction of two, 4.5-mile-long tracks and tunneling, as well as repairing Amtrak’s existing North River Tunnel, which opened in 1910 and was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
GDC says it is well-positioned to finalize a Full-Funding Grant Agreement for up to $6.88 billion with the Federal Transit Administration in 2024.
“The Delivery Partner will be the arms and legs that enable GDC to continue to move this project in high gear, as we prepare for heavy construction to start. With more major contract awards coming down the pike this year, getting the Delivery Partner on board ensures we have the strongest and most agile team possible at the ready,” said Alicia Glen, New York GDC commissioner and co-chair, Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey GDC commissioner and co-chair and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak commissioner and vice chair said in a joint statement,
“From the beginning, GDC has had an open line of communication with the private sector. By joining forces with a Delivery Partner today, we are tapping into industry talent, resources and expertise that will make the Hudson Tunnel Project a leader in effective megaproject delivery,” said GDC CEO Kris Kolluri said.
GDC says the DP model has a proven track record, enabling public agencies such as Metrolinx in the Toronto, Ontario, region to successfully deliver large-scale infrastructure projects. A DP strategy was used to deliver the 2012 London Olympics development and legacy works ahead of schedule and under budget.
As the procuring entity acting on GDC’s behalf, Amtrak initiated a publicly advertised bidding process in December 2022 to select a DP. Proposals submitted by three qualified teams were reviewed by representatives from GDC, the state of New York, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and Amtrak, after which MPA Delivery Partners was selected through a competitive evaluation process.
The award of the DP contract includes the authorization of a Notice to Proceed for Phase A Task Orders for an amount not to exceed $26.8 million. The time period for Phase A is from March to September 2024. In addition, MPA Delivery Partners has committed to exceeding GDC’s established Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contract goal of 20.1 percent.
The GDC Board has also authorized GDC to enter into agreements with the state of New York, PANYNJ and NJ Transit. The agreements will provide the framework to support the loan agreements that GDC will enter into with the Build America Bureau under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, representing the local share of the HTP. GDC anticipates being able to close on the RRIF loans with the Build America Bureau in the coming months.
“The Gateway Hudson Tunnel will be a model of resilient infrastructure to futureproof safe and sustainable travel along the nation’s most economically vital corridor. Arcadis is proud to bring our extensive tunneling, rail and transit expertise to support the Gateway Development Commission to facilitate the urgent delivery of this megaproject that will improve quality of life for communities that live and work in New York, New Jersey and beyond,” said Greg Steele, global president of mobility at Arcadis.
“HTP is a critical, once-in-a-generation project that will embody the excellence of our nation’s future infrastructure. We look forward to partnering with the Gateway Development Commission on unlocking the full economic and societal potential of the Hudson Tunnel Project. As Parsons has done for 80 years, we’re ready to continue imagining and delivering the future of transportation in New York and New Jersey,” said Mark Fialkowski, president, North America Infrastructure of Parsons.
