Minnesota's Metropolitan Council, overseeing public transit expansion in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and nearby suburbs, has awarded $117 million contract to Los Angeles-based AECOM to complete the remaining engineering of the Southwest Light Rail Transit line from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie.
An AECOM-led joint venture was the only group responding to Met Council's Request for Proposals (RFP) for was the only respondent to the Council's request for proposals for this design phase, but Met Council staff recommended approval of the submission, local media reported.
AECOM is no stranger to Twin Cities LRT work, having completed preliminary engineering work for the western half of the $1.65 billion Southwest LRT line in Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. AECOM also was the engineer of record on the Green Line (Central Corridor) LRT route linking Minneapolis and St. Paul, which opened last June.
The AECOM-led team will take the designs from 30 percent to completion and assist with engineering activities during construction and the opening of the line, anticipated in 2019.