LACMTA staff recommends contractor for $1.3 billion Crenshaw/LAX Line project

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LACMTA) administrative staff has recommended that a $1.3 billion contract be awarded to Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors to build the 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line.

LACMTA's board is scheduled to vote on the award June 27. The board's Construction Committee is scheduled to discuss the contract on June 20, according to a post on LACMTA's website.

Walsh/Shea, a joint venture between Walsh Construction and J.F. Shea Co., was one of four firms to submit proposals for the contract. The joint venture has collaborated to work on other U.S. rail projects, including one for Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

A design-build project, the Crenshaw/LAX Line is one of 12 transit projects to be funded by Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase that Los Angeles County voters approved in 2008.

On a per-mile basis, the Crenshaw/LAX will be the most expensive light-rail project that LACMTA has ever built, according to the website.

LACMTA officials anticipate the line will have average weekday boardings of just under 25,000 by the year 2035.

LACMTA and Los Angeles World Airports are collaborating on another Measure R project that would connect the Crenshaw/LAX Line to LAX by light rail, bus rapid transit or a people mover. Slated for completion in the late 2020s, that project will depend on funding from the city of Los Angeles.