Northwest Transportation Agencies Seek Interconnectivity Among Modes, Partners
Transportation agencies in the Puget Sound region are embracing a multimodal, holistic approach as billions of dollars worth of design and construction continue to move forward. While the area’s development historically has been around highways, there is little room to expand those.
“The urgent challenge is to accommodate different modes,” said Christine Alar, senior transportation planner for transit and mobility with the Seattle Dept. of Transportation, on a panel at Infraday Northwest held in Seattle Aug. 19.
David Ison, aviation planner for the Washington State Dept. of Transportation, noted a need to “remove silos of modes” and consider more connectivity, such as rail traveling along I-5 and connecting to airports. “What if Portland Airport could serve as a reliever to [Seattle-Tacoma International Airport] with high-speed rail?” he said.
Dylan Jones, mobility and transportation leader for cities with Gensler, said that emerging travel modes require planning for sharing in limited space. “We have to think equitably about land” for people who can’t or don’t want to drive, he added.
Stephen Antupit, an urban designer with the City of Tacoma, added that geofencing is critical for accommodating various modes in that limited space. Existing spots of available land, such as no-parking zones or freeway spurs, might be used for scooters and bikes. And 20 acres near I-5 and the University of Washington could be reclaimed for the community once the ramps are reconfigured.
Alar said Seattle has a multimodal plan that requires a “holistic look at right of way” to determine locations of bus lanes, crossings and other transportation infrastructure. Specific streets might be designated for specific modes,” she noted.
Agencies are also looking to improve on project planning, funding, and delivery. Greg Spotts, West Coast client support leader with Arcadis, noted that while he was with the Washington Dept. of Transportation, “we couldn’t always deliver as planned” because there were “thirty different buckets of funding with specific regulations” for projects. For a Seattle transportation ballot measure last year, the focus was “more outcome-based than on widgets,” he said, to allow for “more flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances.” The measure passed with 66% voter approval, he said.
Fellow panelists concurred on the need to simplify design and review expectations. Traci Rogstad, associate vice president for facilities with Western Washington University, said that “predesign tends to be overdesigned,” with designers trying to look 10 years forward. “I challenge them not to,” she said. Rather, they should design for the shorter term with room to build out eventually—“good enough” versus “great.”
The Port of Seattle is looking at partnering with private developers who could build on land it owns after remediation, said Lyra Lise, its director of real estate development. It is also collaborating with Seattle City Light to explore new technologies regarding electrification. “A twenty-first-century electric investment is needed,” she said.
The port is using progressive design-build for the Uplands Development Project, which will add 400,000 sq ft of industrial building space for maritime and fishing industries, she added, because three previous attempts were foiled by the difficult soil conditions. “Progressive design-build is an iterative process,” she said. “With [subject matter experts] and construction people in the same room, we can build in risk evaluations and we’re hoping for better cost guarantees.”
With uncertainties regarding supply chain costs and looming tariffs, panelists discussed buying lead items for projects in advance and storing them. Ryan Krueger, senior project manager with Washington County in Oregon, noted a trail project that ended up waiting for light poles to arrive. But if the county had ordered them in advance, storing them would be a challenge.
“Sometimes the owner needs to order [components] early,” rather than leaving purchases to the contractor, he added.
Christopher Wilhelm, economics and finance consultant with Jacobs, added that agencies can develop cost indices for materials, labor and other construction risks over five years or so, identify supply chain storage options, and invest in skill development programs.”
Sound Opportunities
As Sound Transit prepares for its third major capital program, estimated at $60 billion, it is planning to utilize progressive design-build and multiple award task order contracts, said Michael Morgan, the agency’s executive director of capital delivery. The latter has helped recruit five prime contractors and 65 subcontractors for Sound Transit work, he said.
The planned 16-mile, six-station Everett Link light rail extension will include the agency’s first progressive design-build job to build two maintenance facilities, now in the RFP phase, he said.
The capital program will add 62 miles of light rail. The 4-mile, four-station West Seattle Link extension’s environmental process is complete, while a 8-mile, nine-station Ballard Link extension, including a tunnel in downtown Seattle, is still in environmental review, he said.
Sound Transit has a procurement tracker for industry to check for bid opportunities. It is also looking at utilizing artificial intelligence for managing project risk and scheduling based on data from previous projects, he said.
PCL has begun construction has begun on the $228-million, 365,125-sq-ft maintenance facility for the Stride bus rapid transit program, which will utilize battery-electric buses for the first time, Morgan said. “More [contract] opportunities are coming.”
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