Skanska Secures $66M Transit Contract

GREENBELT, MD-The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, or Metro as it is typically called, has awarded Skanska a $66-million contract for a test track, commissioning facility, parking garage and other facilities near the existing Metro Maintenance Yard here.

The project is a straightforward design-contract, unlike the $2.08-billion public-private partnership it secured with the Commonwealth of Virginia for the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/MLK Freeway in Norfolk and Portsmouth earlier this year. “We have a lot of experience with design-build projects and in working with WMATA,” Damian Ruppert, project manager for Skanska USA Civil, tells GlobeSt.com.

The project calls for a two-mile test track and commissioning facility for Metro to test the 648 new rail cars it is purchasing to replace the aging equipment that make up much of its current fleet. Because Metro doesn’t have two miles of spare empty track, Skanska is building a test track and nearby commission facility in which Metro will make any necessary tweaks or changes for the cars to be certified as ready. The new cars will also be used on the Silver line as well as the Red line.

The 320-space parking garage will be built for Metro users at Greenbelt, since the commissioning facility will require the demolition of the current garage, Ruppert says.

Skanska’s winning bid with WMATA, for which it was notified on Monday that it was selected, calls for Skanska to deliver everything in March 2014. The company has a few months of design ahead of it and needs to secure some permits, Ruppert says, after which it will begin construction. “WMATA issued the job with 20% of the design completed,” he explains. Ground will likely break on the project in the second week of September.