Dive Brief:
- The California High-Speed Rail Authority issued a request for qualifications for a $2.4 billion civil works collaborative design-build contract focused on the Merced to Madera portion of the project, according to a June 25 news release.
- The contract scope covers major civil work along the 34-mile segment, including grading, structures and roadway improvements, per the release. Following the RFQ, the authority will issue a solicitation for procurement later this summer and plans to shortlist two teams for the job by the end of 2026.
- “Delivering an operating Central Valley segment is a key step toward ultimately connecting California’s major population centers in the north and south,” Ian Choudri, the authority’s CEO, said in the release. “As we prepare to begin track installation later this year and launch the next phase of construction, Californians will begin to see the system take shape.”
Dive Insight:
The Merced to Madera segment of California’s high-speed rail route is an offshoot of the planned main line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The spur’s route is slated to continue north from Merced to extend the rail network deeper into California’s Central Valley, with a planned terminus at Sacramento.
With its projected cost swelling from the original $45 billion estimate in 2008 to as high as $231 billion today, the authority has prioritized getting part of the Central Valley segment up and running before building out the broader project.
Earlier in June, it approved a Kiewit Stacey Witbeck Herzog JV for a $3.5 billion, 119-mile stretch, which will help span part of the 171-mile distance between Bakersfield in the south and Merced in the state’s interior.
The RFQ announcement also follows the formation of a public-private partnership with Momentum Alliance Partners, a consortium of firms that includes Dallas-based contractor Jacobs, Spanish engineering firm Sener and London-based urban mobility planner Steer. The authority executed its agreement to move forward with the partnership earlier this month, according to a June 24 news release.
In addition to the RFQ for the Merced-to-Madera segment, the authority also said it had received an update to secure clean power for the project, which complements the co-development agreement with Momentum Alliance Partners. Under the clean power solicitation, a public-private partner will spend six months identifying potential clean energy and commercialization concepts at no cost to the authority, per the release.
The authority expects statements of qualification for the clean power aspect this summer and plans to select a partner in August. Its goal is to have an initial project identification agreement in place by September, according to the release.
Major construction on the Merced to Madera spur targeted by the recent RFQ is anticipated to begin in late 2027, with a 2030 completion target, according to the release.
