Amtrak appoints delivery partner for Baltimore tunnel

Advance will manage oversight of design, construction management, contract management and other administrative support for the US$6bn project in Baltimore.

The team also includes Sener, Turner & Townsend, RailPros, Aldea, and Dr Sauer, as well as 22 qualified disadvantaged and small business enterprises (DBE/SBE) that will help meet the delivery partner’s 14% DBE/SBE goal.

It is the first time Amtrak has used a delivery partner model.

“We’re excited to welcome the Advance team onboard and appreciate the vast experience they’ll bring to our integrated project management team,” said Amtrak assistant vice-president Luigi Rosa.

In February Amtrak selected a Kiewit/JF Shea joint venture to build the 3.2km tunnel.

The Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, also known as the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program, will modernise and transform a 6.4km section of the Northeast Corridor. It will be delivered under three contracts and includes the construction of two new high-capacity tubes for electrified passenger trains, new roadway and railroad bridges, new rail systems and track, and a new station at West Baltimore.

The existing 2.25km B&P Tunnel, connecting Baltimore’s Penn Station to Washington and Virginia, is nearly 150 years old and Amtrak’s oldest tunnel. It suffers from a variety of age-related issues such as excessive water infiltration, a deteriorating structure, and a sinking floor.

Demolition work is under way, and major construction, including utility relocation and work on the first of five bridges, is scheduled to begin later this year.