Amtrak is gearing up to dig deep in Baltimore.
The railroad company selected ADVANCE, a joint venture between Dallas-based infrastructure firms AECOM and Jacobs, to serve as the delivery partner on the $6 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program in Baltimore, according to a company announcement.
The joint venture’s work will include design oversight, construction management, contract management and other administrative support. In February, Amtrak picked a Kiewit-Shea JV to build the actual tunnel. Construction work on Amtrak’s largest capital project will begin later in 2024, according to the release, including utility relocations and building the first of five bridges.
The contract falls under a delivery partner model, a collaborative arrangement between a client, such as Amtrak, and a private partner, in this case the ADVANCE joint venture team, to manage and deliver a large-scale construction project.
In this type of contract, the private partner typically assumes a significant role in overseeing various aspects of the project and shares the risks associated with the project.
That incentivizes the private partner to work toward achieving the client’s overall program objectives, such as budget adherence, schedule compliance and quality standards, according to the release.
Unlike a construction manager at risk contract, where a client hires a construction manager to finish the project within a budget, a delivery partner contract emphasizes collaboration and shared responsibilities. While both contracts involve the construction manager sharing project risks, they differ in their approach to management and partnership roles.
Early work on the tunnel began last year, with demolition currently underway.
Along with AECOM and Jacobs, the ADVANCE team also features a consortium of other construction industry firms, including Sener, Turner & Townsend, RailPros, Aldea, Dr. Sauer and 22 additional disadvantaged and small business enterprises.
The award follows a competitive procurement process that began in early 2023, according to the railroad company.
The overall program will modernize and transform a 10-mile section of the Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger railroad in the U.S., according to Amtrak. Once complete, the project will unlock the biggest rail bottleneck between Washington, D.C. and New Jersey, improving reliability and travel times.
