Construction Authority Awards First Contract for Foothill Gold Line Light Rail Extension

The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority board of directors unanimously voted to award a $2.6 million Utility Relocation design-bid-build contract to W.A. Rasic Construction Company, Inc. for the utility relocation work as part of the 12.3-mile Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Glendora to Montclair. The contract award will allow the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Construction Authority) to begin work on the $1.4 billion, six-station Glendora to Montclair segment in October, with the first three years being spent relocating utilities, conducting pre-construction activities, finalizing engineering plans and hiring the design-build contract team. Stakeholders can expect minimal construction impacts during this phase of initial work.

"Today's action by the board begins the next phase in our journey," stated Construction Authority Board Chairman, Doug Tessitor. "Many of us have been working for this moment for more than a decade."

The Glendora to Montclair segment will extend the Metro Gold Line light rail line from its eastern terminus in Azusa through the foothill communities in the San Gabriel Valley and into San Bernardino County. It will add new light rail stations in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair. The project is being funded by Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The portion of the project within Los Angeles County (Glendora to Claremont) is being mostly funded by Metro's Measure M half-cent sales tax that was approved by voters in November 2016 and went into effect on July 1, 2017, as well as residual Measure R funds from the Pasadena to Azusa segment that was completed under budget and other funds. The portion from Claremont to Montclair is being funded by San Bernardino County.

"The Construction Authority received bids from five qualified teams for this work,” added Tessitor. "The process worked at providing a highly qualified team at the right price."

The Utility Relocation contract is the first of two contracts to be procured as part of the Glendora to Montclair project. The second, Alignment design-build contract, will begin procurement this November and anticipate award in late 2018. Major construction will begin in 2020 and consist of two major construction phrases: first, the relocating/rebuilding of the freight and Metrolink systems, and second, the construction of the Gold Line light rail system. Completion is expected in 2026.

A public groundbreaking ceremony for the project will be held on December 2, 2017 at Citrus College. More details on the ceremony will be released by the Construction Authority in the near future.