10/7/03
The Chicago Transit Board today approved a $192.5 million contract to rehabilitate the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line. The entire project includes renovation and upgrades for more than nine miles of the Red Line, from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street. The work includes rehabilitation of substations along the line, which will improve traction power and, combined with special track and signal work, will enhance the overall reliability of the system. In addition, seven stations along the line will receive upgrades including replacement of escalators, platform canopies, lighting, floor finishes, sidewalks and elevator installation.
?Throughout the construction process, service will not be interrupted for our customers," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?We have learned a great deal on the Blue Line project and will apply those same efficiencies to the Red Line rehab to keep it on time and on budget."
Kiewit/Reyes, AJV (A Joint Venture), was awarded the project as part of a competitive bid process. Kiewit/Reyes is made up of two companies, Kiewit Western Company and Reyes Group, Ltd. Kiewit Western Company is located in Elgin, Illinois, and is a subsidiary of employee-owned Kiewit Construction Company, the nation's seventh-largest construction firm based in Omaha, Nebraska. Kiewit is a general contractor company and has 80 percent ownership in the joint venture. Reyes Group, Ltd. is located in Markham, Illinois. Reyes is a contractor, dealing in concrete, underground and construction management and has 20 percent ownership in the joint venture. Reyes Group, Ltd. is a CTA approved DBE company headed by Marcos G. Reyes, president and CEO.
As part of its contract the firm has committed to participate in CTA's Mentor Prot?g? program, a new CTA Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) initiative where the contractor selects a DBE subcontractor involved in the project to mentor throughout the project. In addition, Kiewit/Reyes has also expressed interest in investing money in a minority financial institution for the duration of the project.
Part of the rehabilitation work began in spring 2003 under a separate $4.5 million contract with F.H. Paschen/S.N. Nielsen & Associates to renovate the 69th and 95th Street bus bridges as well as the bus turnaround at 95th Street. Construction involving the bus bridge at 69th Street was completed in early October, with 95th Street bus bridge work to be completed before the end of the year. Upgrades include replacing the bridge deck, bus lanes, curbs, sidewalks and passenger islands.
When the entire Dan Ryan Red Line project is completed in fall 2006, the CTA will have rehabilitated bus bridges at 69th and 95th Streets, improved signal communications and power substation systems, and renovated seven of the most heavily used Red Line stations. All improvements will conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
?Customers will be able to see many of the improvements throughout the stations and will experience others through more reliable and efficient trips as a result of upgrades to signals, communications and track, and the installation of new contact rail," added Kruesi. ?The Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line has not had any major rehabilitation work since it was built over thirty years ago, but through the support the CTA has received from Mayor Richard M. Daley, Governor Rod Blagojevich, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the Illinois Congressional delegation and the Illinois General Assembly, South Side customers will experience improvements for both bus and rail service."
For the first time, CTA's purchasing department distributed bid requests to contractors on CD-ROM. This technology reduces the cost of copying and distributing such a lengthy bid document, and reduces the amount of time it takes to deliver bid materials to contractors. The purchasing department distributed bid sets, comprised of three CD-ROMs, to 188 different contractors. The CTA will evaluate the benefits of this process to determine how it will be used in the future.
The Red Line is the busiest rail line in the CTA rail system, totaling 64,730,009 rides in 2002. On an average weekday, 187,286 rides were taken, 109,192 on an average Saturday, and 75,303 on an average Sunday in 2002.
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