Omnitrans Board Awards Construction Contract for sbX Bus Rapid Transit Project

July 7, 2011
Construction for sbX Bus Rapid Transit Project scheduled to start this fall.

The Omnitrans board of directors today awarded the E Street Corridor sbX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line construction contract — the first BRT corridor of a system-wide plan to increase public transit mobility for San Bernardino Valley residents.

The construction team will be a joint venture between Griffith Company, a general contractor, and Comet Electric, Inc., which had the lowest bid of $64,700,603.05 and met all requirements as a responsible bidder. The bid is approximately 18 percent below original engineer estimates.

The total cost of the project is estimated at nearly $192 million, including design and engineering work already completed, 14 BRT vehicles on order and planned maintenance facility upgrades. More than 80 percent comes from federal sources, approximately 8 percent from the state and 10 percent from local, of which 3.7 percent is in-kind through permit fee waivers.

"This brings Omnitrans and its partners one step closer to fulfilling a vision to help create sustainable communities by offering bus rapid transit as a new transportation alternative," said Milo Victoria, Omnitrans CEO/general manager. "The construction contract will help stimulate our local economy by creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs throughout the term of the contract in a region that desperately needs these types of opportunities."

The Griffith/Comet joint venture, both Southern California-based companies, and its dozens of subcontractors will be tasked with construction of the 15.7-mile route from northern San Bernardino to Loma Linda with 5.2 miles of dedicated lanes, 16 station locations and four park-and-ride facilities.

Key stops will include California State University San Bernardino, San Bernardino High School, downtown San Bernardino along E Street, Inland Center Mall, the Hospitality Lane business area, Loma Linda University and Medical Center and the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center.

Construction services include roadway, guideway, paving, striping, curb and gutter, sidewalk, utility-relocation and landscaping. Work also includes building station-platforms, park-and-ride facilities, and installation of traffic-signal-priority systems, public art, ticket vending machines, bus benches and other infrastructure.

Construction is due to begin in the fall of this year, with completion in the fourth quarter of 2013. Passenger service is scheduled for early 2014.