The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s (MARTA) Centralized Project Management Organization (CPMO), the joint venture of Jacobs Project Management Co. And H.J. Russell, will manage approximately $700 million in construction spending for the first five years of the authority’s More MARTA expansion project.
At $3 billion, the project is the largest expansion in MARTA’s history.
It is anticipated that the project will create more than 6,000 jobs and employ 15 subcontractors, 13 of whom are either minority-owned, women-owned or small business enterprises. Russell, the 40 percent joint venture partner, is a minority-owned firm.
The Jacobs/Russell team will be responsible for the standardization of project management processes. The team will also handle quality assurance and project resources, including planning, monitoring and performance measurements. The acquisition of a CPMO addresses concerns related to a lack of project controls, an issue noted in an independent audit, as well as one conducted by MARTA in 2017.
“The centralized project management model lends itself to efficiency because it provides a singular focus,” said Jeffrey Parker, MARTA general manager and CEO. “That’s imperative with an initiative the size and scope of More MARTA. With the expertise and vision the Jacobs/Russell joint venture brings, we are confident that this historic expansion will be delivered efficiently and will make sense in the local and regional context.”
With more than 132 years of combined experience in program and construction management, the Jacobs/ Russell team will undergird MARTA’s commitment to efficient project delivery and innovation, including bringing online a dashboard that will allow the public to track the progress of More MARTA projects.
“For more than 40 years, the city of Atlanta and Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties have invested in transit in the Atlanta region. This contract symbolizes a renewed commitment to that investment and is an historic win, not only for the Jacobs/Russell joint venture, but for the Atlanta region,” said Rhonda Briggins, Jacobs’ vice president of Transit Services and MARTA client account manager.
