Three JVs have pre-qualified for the £500m design+build Seattle Sound Transit contract: Puget Link Construction; Obayashi/Atkinson JV; and Modern Transit Contractors. Requests for proposals were issued as T&T International went to press.
The first submittal, a technical proposal (not including costs) will be due on May 10 2000 and complete final proposals will be submitted by July 28. Contract award is due in early October. The client is in the process of getting a federal government Record of Decision, essentially a final approval of the environmental, planning and preliminary design work.
Sound Transit has decided to let the work as a single contract, despite having originally intended to let it as two smaller contracts (Dec ’99). Construction will include 7.2km of twin-bore tunnel and four stations, three mined and one using cut+cover techniques.
The Sound Transit board of directors has approved payment of a $900 000 honorarium to each of the unsuccessful bidders to offset the cost of submitting proposals. This means that Sound Transit will become the owner of the unsuccessful proposals and the designs and concepts they contain, which can be used in part or in total by the successful proposer.
