Lessons Learned for a Transit Public-Private Partnership Phillip A. Washington, General Manager Regional Transportation District Feb. 7, 2011
The RTD FasTracks Plan 122 miles of new light rail and commuter rail 18 miles of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service 31 new park-n-rides; over 21,000 new spaces Enhanced Bus Network & Transit Hubs (FastConnects) Redevelopment of Denver Union Station 2 2
FasTracks Construction Progress 48 miles of new rail lines are currently in construction or under contract to begin construction U.S. 36 BRT Corridor Phase I: First FasTracks project was completed in May 2010 3 Eight projects will be under construction this year: Elati Light Rail Maintenance Facility: Complete in 2011 West Corridor: 72% complete Denver Union Station: 30% complete East Corridor (to DIA): Broke ground in August 2010 Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility: Groundbreaking in 2011 Gold Line: Groundbreaking in 2011 Northwest Rail (to south Westminster): Groundbreaking in 2011 US 36 BRT Phase 2 Projects (Table Mesa Pedestrian Bridge and Queue Jumps): Groundbreaking in 2011
Other FasTracks Progress 4 Environmental processes complete East Corridor Gold Line I-225 Corridor US 36 BRT Southwest Corridor Extension Southeast Corridor Extension Central Corridor Extension Northwest Rail Environmental process wrapping up on final corridor North Metro RTD signed agreements with BNSF and UPRR $308 M federal New Starts funding for West Corridor Federal loans for Denver Union Station RRIF loan - $155 M TIFIA loan - $146 M Submitted all information required by FTA to apply for $1.03 B federal grant for the Eagle Project
Federal Funding for FasTracks Federal New Starts funding $1.3 billion anticipated West Corridor, East Corridor and Gold Line Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program (RRIF) loans for Denver Union Station $300 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) $28.8 million for FasTracks and $18.6 million for Denver Union Station Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) $10 million and eligible for $50 million TIFIA loan 5 Other funding alternatives being pursued
Eagle P3 Project Includes East Corridor, Gold Line, Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility and segment 1 of Northwest Rail (from DUS to 71st Ave./Lowell) 36 miles of rail included in Eagle P3 Project Capital Budget - $2.1 Billion Includes seeking $1 billion in federal funds
East Corridor 22.8 miles electric commuter rail Connects downtown Denver to Denver International Airport Complete in 2016 7
Gold Line 11.2 miles electric commuter rail Connects downtown Denver, Arvada and Wheat Ridge Complete in 2016 8
Northwest Rail (to south Westminster) 5.8 miles electric commuter rail Connects downtown Denver with South Westminster Complete in 2016 9
Eagle P3 Project Status Project divided into Two Phases Phase I East Corridor, Maintenance Facility, Vehicles Phase II Gold Line, short segment of Northwest Rail Phase I Groundbreaking on Aug. 26, 2010 with full construction beginning this year Seeking Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) from FTA ($1 billion) 10 Phase II will be awarded upon receipt of FFGA
RTD s Public-Private-Partnership (P3) First full transit P3 in the United States Project is part of FTA s Public-Private-Partnership- Pilot Program (Penta P) DBFOM design-build-finance-operate-maintain 34-year term (6 years design/build; 28 years O&M) Availability payment model Includes incentives and penalties RTD retains ownership of assets Performance requirements Appropriate risk sharing 11
Eagle P3 Procurement Process Approximately three years from concept to contract Request for Qualifications process Summer 2008 Draft Request for Proposals (RFP) December 2008 Extensive industry review Early 2009 Final RFP September 2009 Final Proposals Received May 2010 Eagle P3 Team Selection June 2010 Financial Close/NTP August 2010 12
P3 Lessons Learned Hire a project director with extensive P3 experience Get a solid financial consultant Hire an experienced legal team Create an internal Management Steering Committee and sub-committees to develop various parts of the RFP Release an RFQ first and short-list qualified teams 13
P3 Lessons Learned (cont.) Prepare a Draft RFP and conduct a detailed industry review Set a schedule that includes time to work through issues Hold team members to deadlines and military silence Have all team members involved in the procurement process sign confidentiality agreements 14
P3 Lessons Learned (cont.) Wrap up railroad agreements as soon as possible Give bidding teams the opportunity to propose Alternative Technical Concepts for staff review and approval prior to submission of final proposals Allow key stakeholders to participate in the evaluation process Hold outreach events for the bidding teams to network with small and disadvantaged businesses 15 Be open and transparent throughout the process
Questions? 16