The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) got a much-needed morale boost this month with the signing of the country’s first P3 agreement for a system-wide automated fare collection (AFC) installation (see above), and the rescue of a $2.3-billion light rail expansion that had blown up a few years ago under a poorly managed Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) contract.
A Fluor-led joint venture was awarded a $1.1-billion design-build contract on Nov. 20 to rebuild and extend sections of MBTA’s 4.5-mile Green Line on existing railroad rights-of-way in an unusually tight corridor north of Boston proper. Disagreements over consequential damages and the extent of indemnification of MBTA were finally settled and GLX Constructors signed a contract at a price that includes all additive options, plus MBTA’s contingency, and is still well below the $1.3-billion affordability limit.