Capital Programs Strike Steady Pace

Capital budgets – especially those at rail transit agencies – have weathered the pandemic relatively well. There have been high profile delays, as well as acceleration of certain work to take advantage of lower ridership.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) leveraged reduced service hours brought on by the pandemic to push forward on a list of system improvement projects, including the replacement of track components between the South Hayward and Union City BART stations and preliminary work to build a new railcar storage facility. Additionally, BART accelerated work on its downtown electrical cable replacement projects, as well as work on its third rail replacement program, rail profiling program and modernization of its El Cerrito del Norte station.

What 2022 will bring to agencies responsible for rail networks will be more critical maintenance work, investments in modernization of components and systems and new openings as long-planned projects are scheduled to enter service. What follows is a snapshot of what large agencies across the United States are planning for the year.

L.A. Metro

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) Board of Directors adopted a balanced $8 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which includes $476.3 million for State of Good Repair and $3.2 billion for transportation infrastructure development and regional rail programs. L.A. Metro notes the transportation infrastructure development and regional rail program numbers are more than 24 percent higher than FY21, which it says is because various projects have moved into the construction phase – the costliest phase – of project delivery.

L.A. Metro has arguably the most robust active rail expansion program in the U.S. with nearly $2.3 billion of the authority’s $2.5 billion transit expansion budget in FY22 slated for rail expansion projects. Projects that will continue to advance this year include the Airport Metro Connector, East San Fernando Transit Corridor, E Line (Expo) Light Rail Transit project, L Line (Gold) Foothill Extension 2A to Azusa, L Line (Gold) Foothill Extension 2B and all three sections of the Westside D Line (Purple) Subway Extension. Additionally, L.A. Metro is scheduled to open two light-rail projects in 2022: the Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Transit project and the Regional Connector.

The Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Transit project began construction in 2014 to construct an 8.5-mile light-rail line from the Metro E Line (Expo) to the Metro C Line near Interstate 105. The project includes eight stations and a new maintenance facility. In a February 2022 meeting of the L.A. Metro Construction Committee, the project was reported to be at 99.5 percent completion with an anticipated late summer 2022 opening date. However, the opening date is dependent on the project’s contractor reaching substantial completion and proper testing occurring. The work remaining is system integration testing and punch-list repair.

The 1.9-mile Regional Connector, also referred to as the missing link, will connect L.A. Metro’s L Line (Gold) to the 7th St./Metro Center Station. The extension will also provide a one-seat ride for travel across Los Angeles County. In the February Construction Committee meeting, the project was reported to be 90 percent complete with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2022.

CTA

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has planned a FY22 capital budget of $1.076 billion as part of a five-year capital improvement program that is targeting nearly $3.5 billion in investments through FY26. CTA’s five-year capital plan tells the tale of an agency focused on modernizing and maintaining its assets with strategic expansion projects included. CTA notes its capital program fits within a regional context and major projects come with the consideration of how they would fit with the Regional Transportation Authority’s Regional Transit Strategic Plan and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s 30-year plan.

CTA began 2022 with the wrap up of the Red-Purple Bypass project and started the North Belmont Red-Purple Reconstruction project, which are both part of the authority’s largest reconstruction effort in history—the $2.1 billion Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One project. Additionally, CTA’s multi-year Your New Blue program entered the final phase of a signal upgrade project at the start of the year. The signal component is the largest part of the Your New Blue modernization program, which is designed to provide more reliable service along the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line.

In FY22, CTA is targeting an estimated $125 million of its capital program budget on rail projects, including more than $95 million on the planned Red Line Extension, more than $179 million on the North Main Line – RPM, nearly $11 million on signal replacements and upgrades, more than $52 million on infrastructure safety and renewal programs and nearly $125 million on rolling stock.

The planned Red Line Extension is another multi-year, long vision project that will extend the CTA’s busiest rail line 5.6 miles to the southern city limits, providing transit access and connectivity to the Far South Side of Chicago. The project has been accepted into the New Starts Project Development Phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Improvement Grants program and CTA plans to complete the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2022.

Additional capital projects CTA plans to continue or begin in 2022 include the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP), to make its rail system 100 percent vertically accessible; track and power improvements along the Blue Line Forest Park Branch, which is the first phase of a comprehensive rebuild; and an expanded and accelerated rail station improvement program called Refresh & Renew.

At the time the CTA’s FY22 budget proposal was released, CTA President Dorval Carter noted the correlation between a strong CTA and a strong Chicago.

“Investment in transit infrastructure has always been an investment in a strong future for the city,” Carter said. “Further, continued investment in transit is directly tied to our city’s economic recovery, a way to promote jobs and opportunities at a time when the city needs them most.”

WMATA

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) FY22 capital budget of $2.6 billion continues the authority’s focus on prioritizing safety and reliability investments. The authority’s six-year capital investment program includes $12.3 billion in investments and the past four years has seen WMATA invest more than $6 billion through its capital program. The authority has also met or exceeded in delivering 95 percent of its capital budget each year.

In its six-year capital investment program, WMATA explains it is trying to chip away at the accumulated backlog of safety and state of good repair work following decades of underinvestment and deferred maintenance.

In FY22, WMATA plans to spend more than $342 million on railcar and rail facilities, $272.3 million in rail systems, $342.9 million in track and structure expenditures and $572 million in stations and passenger facilities.

WMATA is planning to invest between $92 million and $100 million through FY27 in its track rehabilitation program, which includes track stabilization, tamping, track bed cleaning and replacement or renewal of track components such as crossties, fasteners, group pads and switches.

WMATA will also invest a planned $220.3 million in the fourth phase of its station platform rehabilitation program in FY22. WMATA will advance work at five Orange Line stations during a summer 2022 shutdown. The stations include three outdoor stations (New Carrollton, Landover and Cheverly) and two adjacent stations (Deanwood and Minnesota Ave.). The work will include concrete platform repair, granite edges, paver tile, signage, shelters, station communication systems, life safety systems, bathrooms and other work.

WMATA is planning a major rehab of the Yellow Line tunnel and bridge with work scheduled to begin concurrently in September. WMATA says its chief engineer has identified the steel-lined tunnel near L’Enfant Plaza as the agency’s top structural priority, with repairs needed to stop water intrusion and strengthen the tunnel lining. This work will require a shutdown between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations, closing the Yellow Line crossing of the Potomac River for seven to eight months.

During that time, crews will rehabilitate the Yellow Line Bridge spanning the Potomac River and repair the steel lined tunnels between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations, both of which date to original construction more than 40 years ago. WMATA will also remove and rewire miles of critical communications cabling used by multiple jurisdictions and make repairs to the Yellow Line bridge. The project and associated bridge closure is expected to begin in September and be completed in spring 2023.

Perhaps the greatest change to the Metrorail system this year will be the anticipated opening of the Metrorail Silver Line Phase Two. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) determined the 11.5-mile extension reached substantial completion in November 2021. WMATA is currently working with MWAA on the remaining open issues with the construction of the extension. According to a project update in January 2022, seven issues concerning tight gauge at yard switches, cracked impedance bonds, turntable deficiencies and others were being remediated. A new issue involving heat tape failures was discovered during operational readiness testing and how to address the issue is still being worked out. WMATA will establish an opening date for the extension after all identified deficiencies have been resolved and testing on the line has concluded.

“In order to maintain a healthy system, Metro needs an aggressive capital program. We will continue working with our regional partners to advance construction and rehabilitation projects that ensure a state of good repair for critical regional infrastructure. While service outages can be disruptive, we know they are foundational for maintaining safe and reliable service,” said WMATA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Wiedefeld. “We have a lot of work to do this year and we will tackle major state of good repair projects while also introducing new service. We are committed to providing our customers with reliable alternatives and frequent updates on the work as it is conducted.”