Arcadis Attached to US Railway Project

Arcadis have successfully become attached to the new California High-Speed Rail project, which is to become the first high-speed railway line in the USA. Arcadis will provide management services for a section of the project.
Overseen by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the project aims to create a new high-speed railway connecting the major US cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles – two of the most prominent areas in the State of California. The project is worth a total of US$68 billion, and is expected to be complete by the year 2029. Using the new high-speed route, travel between the two cities is expected to take about two hours and forty minutes. This compares to a car journey of just over five and a half hours (based on travel between the centres of the cities), or longer in difficult traffic.
Arcadis will provide support for the project by overseeing the design and construction of part of this route. The section Arcadis will oversee will cover 65 miles from Fresno to the Tulare Kern County Line. The company will oversee and manage the activities of contractors dealing with both the design and construction aspects of the project. They are expected to receive up to US$71.86 million over the course of five years in return for these services.
According to Arcadis US CEO and COO Gary Coates, “we are honored to be chosen to support the Authority on this transformative public infrastructure project.” Coates went on to say that “Increasing mobility that connects people, drives economic development, and enhances environmental conditions in California’s fastest growing communities aligns with our mission to improve quality of life for those who work, live and travel in the region.”
Arcadis have provided management services for a number of other major public works projects in California in the past. It is likely on the strength of this track record that the company has won this latest contract. According to a statement on the company’s website, Arcadis “brings extensive design-build oversight experience as well as global high-speed rail expertise to help deliver the project on schedule, within budget and with positive outcomes for the local community, economy and environment.”
As the two major regions of the State of California and two of the US’ most important cities, there is naturally a good deal of traffic between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The new high speed railway is hoped to make this journey significantly faster and easier, thereby not only making life easier for travellers but driving economic development by facilitating business activity. It is also hoped that the rail link will provide a cleaner, more environmentally friendly option for travel between the two cities than commuters currently have available.
Author: Matthew Scott