KKCS has provided FTA Project Management Oversight Contractor (PMOC) services in Region 1 since 2010. Currently, KKCS is overseeing Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) projects to ensure compliance with FTA requirements for Full Funding Grant Agreements (FFGAs), Small Starts Grant Agreements (SSGAs), American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant programs. KKCS has provided PMOC services on numerous MBTA projects totaling more than $5 billion including subway, light rail, commuter rail, and bridges. Example projects are:
Fitchburg Wachusett Extension, Station & Yard
The project extended the Fitchburg commuter rail line approximately four miles to a new station in Wachusett and consisted of track, bridge, and signal improvements to the existing Pan Am Southern Freight Mainline between Fitchburg and Gardner and a new layover facility in Westminister. The project faced schedule challenges due to the complexity of the commuter rail/freight rail interfaces. KKCS analyzed the effort to recover the schedule for the TIGER 1 grant, developed various ideas to advance the project and enable timely draw down of the TIGER grant funds, and analyzed the construction sequence to identify schedule work-arounds.
Green Line Extension
The Green Line Extension is the highest profile transportation project in the State of Massachusetts and is on the current FTA list of the Top 50 Infrastructure Projects in the United States. This is the first extension of the Green Line light rail system in decades and comprises completely new double-track alignments, traction power, train communications and signals, seven stations, a maintenance facility and yard, and 24 new light rail vehicles.
The project entered a FFGA in January 2015 under a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) delivery method. KKCS oversight reporting at the time recommended caution in that this contracting method was untested and unproven at MBTA, thus presenting a risk of higher-than-anticipated cost. Ultimately, MBTA decided to forego CM/GC delivery in favor of procuring a design-build team that will complete the design and construction.
KKCS provided oversight throughout this process that involved coordination with the outgoing CM/GC and the incoming design-build Green Line management teams, as well as with the Massachusetts Secretary of State, the MBTA Financial Management Control Board, and FTA headquarters staff. This effort included a risk assessment and review process of the procurement documents for the design-build team, oversight of the scope/cost/schedule re-evaluation, and suggestions regarding management reporting during the interim period between CM/GC and design-build procurements. Suggestions included ways to report change and contingency management as well as evaluation of the ongoing construction for scope and cost reduction.
Government Center Subway Station Reconstruction
The project included the modernization of a historic station, originally built in 1898, and combined improvements to the Green Line Station, Blue Line Station, and Cambridge Street/Government Center Plaza to upgrade the station for full compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other legally mandated improvements. Trains continued to run through the station during re-construction, but the station was closed for two years which allowed cost and schedule savings for MBTA as well as increased public safety. Upon reopening of the re-modeled station, Government Center became the last key subway station enhanced to full ADA accessibility in the U.S.
KKCS provided oversight during the station re-construction, with an increased level of oversight during the lead-up to the re-opening of the station. For example, KKCS analyzed a proposed change order for acceleration payments to the contractor to enable passenger access after a two-year closure agreement with the public. KKCS developed detailed comments on the proposed text of the change order and worked with MBTA to substantially revise the change order language.
Agency
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Location
Boston, MA
Program Value
$5.0 billion
Services Provided
Program/Project Management Oversight
