Government Business
Article | March 11, 2022
Another round of funding from by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will guarantee the launch of numerous projects at airports throughout the U.S. This particular grant program provides smaller funding amounts, but the funding can augment projects that are part of larger initiatives.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced in July that more than $273 million in airport safety and infrastructure funding has been approved for 184 airports in 41 states and six territories. Program details can be found here for airport safety and infrastructure grants. The bulk of the funding, just over $242 million, is provided through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, while $31 million is a result of the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
This funding provides a 100 percent federal cost share for airport projects that fall into the category of infrastructure and/or safety. Projects of numerous types are eligible, but recently approved ones range from runway and taxiway construction to lighting improvements and master plan studies. And, most of the projects are slated to launch within the next year.
Projections for increased airline travel in 2021 are strong, and pent-up demand will result in even more upcoming airport projects of all types.
Florida
Plans for a major renovation at Punta Gorda Airport are underway and will be enhanced by a grant allocation of $471,305. The FAA funding will cover the design phase for renovating the airport’s 7,193-foot-long runway. Construction is slated to begin in 2021. Punta Gorda Airport is off the Gulf Coast north of Fort Myers.
Boca Raton Airport received a $694,444 federal grant to update its master plan. This upfront work will outline and prioritize airport improvement projects and expansion plans for the next two decades. Recent conversations have focused on new additions related to lighting, signage, taxiway and runway drainage, and other improvements. The 243-acre airport is in southern Palm Beach County.
While Tampa International Airport didn’t receive funding in the most recent round of FAA grants, numerous upcoming projects have been announced. The projects are listed in the airport’s 2021 Proposed Budget. Among those is an elevator modernization project projected to cost approximately $7.4 million. It is slated for the airport’s main terminal. Another technology project covered by a fiscal year 2021 capital commodity plan has a cost allocation of $1.5 million, and an airside A&C shuttle car and control system replacement project totaling $13.2 million is anticipated in the near future.
Miami International Airport is working on the solicitation for a new hotel with a 30- to 50-year lease agreement. As the nation’s second-busiest airport, officials hope to partner with a group to construct a “world-class” 350-room hotel. The plans call for the new hotel to be connected by a pedestrian bridge to Concourse D. Amenities will include a restaurant, business center, 20,000-square-foot meeting space for events, and a fitness center.
California
A small airport off Interstate 5 in northern California has been notified that it will receive funding for renovations. The Dunsmuir Municipal-Mott Airport was awarded $3.2 million to perform critical renovations to the runway and reconstructing the taxiway. City officials were pleased to announce that the airport runway, which has been in disrepair for some time, will now be completely refurbished and made safer.
Arkansas
Engineering and design work is nearing completion for a new $13 million terminal for Texarkana Regional Airport. The facility, which is located along U.S. 67 east of downtown Texarkana, received $3.6 million in FAA grant funding. Construction of the new terminal is just one part of a larger $34 million project for the airport.
Missouri
Columbia Regional Airport will extend one of its runways with the help of a $9.9 million federal grant. The Columbia City Council in March approved extending Runway 2-20 from 6,500 feet to 7,400 feet in order to be able to accept larger aircraft and also increase takeoff and stopping distances. City officials estimated the total cost of construction at $11 million, and the city has budgeted an additional $1.1 million for the runway extension project. This project will be launched in 2021.
Louisiana
Although airports in the state of Louisiana did not receive grant funding from the FAA, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is working to finalize its master plan and has numerous projects already slated for the near future. Once the plan is completed, interested contractors will be able to find numerous and diverse improvement and expansion projects outlined. The airport is just south of Interstate 10 and Lake Pontchartrain.
Oregon
Hillsboro Airport has a $2.8 million construction project planned for early 2021. Officials have announced that a contractor will be selected to reconstruct almost the full length of Taxiway A and connect it to several other taxiways. The work will be performed in conjunction with the FAA and Port of Portland Operations.
Georgia
The city of Atlanta is scheduled to release a request for proposals (RFP) for on-call engineering services at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. An engineering firm will be selected to provide ground surveys in support of upcoming work that will be handled by the city aviation planning and development department. Atlanta’s airport held the distinction of being busier than any other airport in the U.S. in 2019. More than 110 million passengers passed through the airport either departing on or arriving back from airline flights.
Although these most recent grant awards will not fund huge airport projects, the funding will enable the launch of thousands of smaller contracting opportunities.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
Read More
Government Business
Article | July 14, 2022
As the country battles to recover from COVID-19, transit leaders are calling for the next federal relief package to appropriate substantial funding to allow public transit to play its critical part in the economy’s recovery.
In the interim, many of these transit and mobility authorities throughout the nation are moving forward with capital improvement projects already in the pipeline and in various phases of development. They will soon be announcing large projects, especially in quickly growing regions, and their planning documents list upcoming initiatives that range from mid-size construction projects to sprawling billion-dollar programs that focus on aging infrastructure.
The following are just a few examples of upcoming projects from tollway and mobility authorities.
California
Just east of San Francisco, the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority in late June approved $46.8 million in funding for the next stage in Valley Link, a 42-mile light-rail line. This project will connect a planned train station in North Lathrop to an existing station in Pleasanton. Another $13 million previously dedicated to the project paid for conceptual design work that is near completion.
Also, elsewhere in the state, the Transportation Corridor Agencies, in coordination with Caltrans, is proposing a $180 million project to add a direct 241/91 Express Connector linking the northbound 241 Toll Road to the eastbound 91 Express Lanes and the westbound 91 Express Lanes to the southbound 241 Toll Road. The connector will alleviate traffic and improve access to toll lanes in Orange and Riverside counties.
Texas
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has several forthcoming procurements and will be soliciting bids in early August for the third phase of the 183A extension project. This $180 million project will create a 6.6-mile extension of the busy tollway north from Leander to east of Liberty Hill. Construction is expected to begin in early 2021.
New Jersey
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has $24 billion in various road and infrastructure projects in its Proposed 2020 Capital Improvement Program released in March 2020. The authority has outlined 24 projects that provide system solutions and upgrades. One of the largest initiatives is a $2.9 billion project to replace approximately 200 bridge decks. Another large undertaking, projected to cost about $1.4 billion, is described as raising a section of Garden State Parkway above a revised 100-year floodplain.
Florida
Florida’s 2021 budget earmarks $90 million for an ambitious tollway project spanning hundreds of miles. The Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance, or M-CORES, plan calls for construction of 340 miles of new toll roads by 2030. M-CORES outlines new road infrastructure for three corridors: the Suncoast Connector from Citrus County to Jefferson County; the Northern Turnpike Connector from the northern terminus of Florida’s Turnpike northwest to the Suncoast Parkway; and the Southwest-Central Florida Connector from Collier County to Polk County. Initiated by a state Senate bill in 2019, this is a $10 billion project.
Kansas
The city of Overland Park and the Kansas Turnpike Authority are conducting a study that could lead to a $300 million project for U.S. 69. City leaders turned to the Turnpike Authority for help with widening the highway which has become the most congested in the state. The collaborative effort would include widening the highway to six lanes, with two of them being tolled.
Illinois
The Illinois Tollway Authority is closing its bid filing period for a more than $100 million project to reconstruct a section of Interstate 294, and numerous other projects are slated to occur in the next several years. A project to reconstruct the northbound C-D Road has a cost projection of between $25 and $50 million. Another planned project includes demolishing and rebuilding the Southbound Mile Long Bridge with a cost of more than $100 million. Another interesting project outlined involves building ongoing ramps from 75th Street to Interstate 55 which will also cost approximately$100 million.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) released a request for information to determine how best to structure procurements to replace and enhance the commission’s tolling Customer Service Center system and customer service operations. A number of contracting opportunities will result from this initiative. The commission is inviting responses from software application development companies with innovative products in the customer relationship management, customer account management, and customer experience spaces. System integrators and/or software developers with expertise in CRM, customer account management, call centers, customer contact systems and CX, and transactional/financial processing and billing systems also are also encouraged to respond. PTC is also interested in input from customer service firms specializing in the design and integration of innovative customer contact systems with new or existing applications.
In addition to construction and engineering projects, numerous tollway authorities are moving toward all-electronic toll collections. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission moved from toll collectors to all-electronic this year, and the Bay Area Toll Authority suspended in-person toll collecting in March because of COVID-19. This trend will provide numerous opportunities for IT companies in the near future as transit and mobility authorities search for technology solutions to modernize the driving experience on toll roads.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
Read More
Emerging Technology
Article | July 13, 2022
Motorists and automobile lovers are already noticing rather rapid change. Sustainability goals adopted by elected officials at cities and counties are continuing to promote projects that support walking, biking, and using public transportation. Housing density, walkable communities, technology enhancement and convenient public transportation are the goals.
Parking options are being reduced. Automobiles are being banned on many community streets, and cities are adding parks, entertainment venues, affordable housing, and more retail. Mixed use development, biking lanes, and convenient transportation options for non-motorized travel are the goal. The arguments for such changes are that people will be healthier and safer, the air will be cleaner, and there will be more options for people with disabilities. The trend is called ‘livable and walkable communities,’ and as it sweeps through the country, it opens up thousands of partnering opportunities between public entities and private sector contractors.
Indiana
The city of Indianapolis plans to add more sidewalks throughout the city and has commissioned an inventory to determine how many and which streets don’t have a sidewalk. The results of that study will be published by the end of 2020. The city, which covers 360 square miles, has approximately 8,400 lane miles of streets. Indiana’s Department of Transportation maintains about one-third of the state’s sidewalks, and the cities are responsible for the rest. The study is part of the Indy Moves plan, a long-range planning document that combines walking, biking, and public transportation goals. More than 400 projects are outlined that include building new roads, developing greenways, upgrading existing roads with sidewalks, and constructing more bike lanes. Adding sidewalks to every street without them could cost more than $1 billion. The sidewalks, however, appear to be a high priority because city officials have pledged net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and that requires fewer automobiles in the city.
Texas
In August, the city of Houston approved a plan that is built around walkable places and transit-oriented programs that encourage pedestrian-friendly spaces. The city, like many others throughout the country, will work to promote mixed-use development designed for walkability. For three years, the city has studied ways to make neighborhoods more walkable. Its new plan lists Midtown, Emancipation Avenue, and the Northside as the first places of high focus. Ordinances will be effective beginning October 1. Some of the first initiatives include the construction of facades closer to the road, expansion of sidewalks and relocation of parking lots to the side or rear of buildings. Additionally, the ordinances call for additional bike parking standards in areas that are within a half-mile walking distance from Metro transit station platforms.
New Hampshire
The Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission recently unveiled its Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan. The document outlines projects that include constructing streets and paths that encourage walking and biking. It calls for developing safer intersections and compact and well-signed city blocks. The city of Manchester has applied for a $25 million federal grant to will help fund a pedestrian bridge and the addition of a new street to help alleviate traffic congestion around the Southern New Hampshire University parking garage. City leaders hope to know by November if their grant request has been approved. If so, projects related to improving connectivity and walkability will be launched. The plan calls for an approximate $125 million investment, but the projects could unlock $600 million more in anticipated development. The new developments are expected to include a facility for 1,802 residential units, a hotel with 154 rooms, 785,000 square feet of office space, and 198,000 square feet of retail space.
Illinois
The city of Chicago has announced an initiative called INVEST South/West. This plan commits $750 million of public funds for projects in 12 commercial corridors in 10 neighborhoods. The objective of this plan is to improve streetscapes and public and also strengthening transportation networks and repurposing vacant lots for public amenities and affordable housing. Currently, three solicitation documents have been released for one neighborhood but numerous others will be released in coming months for projects in other neighborhoods. The initial solicitation documents call for proposals by November 24 with construction to begin by the end of 2020. Projects outlined for the various neighborhoods were developed through a months-long community-engagement process, and the developers and contractors will be expected to begin work quickly.
California
The city of Modesto has approved a 20-year plan that calls for bicycle lanes as well as widening and enhancing of sidewalks. Other projects are also planned with the overall objective of making neighborhoods more convenient for non-drivers and encouraging foot traffic and bicycles. City leaders point out that the downtown area has strong office, restaurant, and entertainment sectors, but there is a desire to reduce automobile traffic. Denser housing options and the encouragement of transportation options that include walking and biking are the goal. Construction of new home sites, retail, and other uses will be left to developers. City leaders plan to replace the Stanislaus County Courthouse and adjacent jail to make that property available for new, denser home sites. A pedestrian-friendly route would lead to the Tuolumne River.
Georgia
Clayton County and the cities of Sandy Springs, Savannah, and Valdosta were selected for funding in Georgia Tech's 2020 Georgia Smart Communities Challenge. Each region will receive $100,000 in grant funding to be used for planning purposes. The Clayton County Smart Pedestrian Planning project outlines plans to promote mobility, equity, and the identification of smart technologies to support walkability in communities. Sidewalk data will be collected, and the county will oversee the selection of pilot projects in locations that represent different neighborhood typologies. The first projects will be studied for future development of additional regions.
Cities and counties throughout the country are rushing to meet sustainability goals and these efforts are resulting in an abundance of contracting opportunities for developers, engineering firms, construction companies, landscape firms, and technology providers.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
Read More
Article | April 20, 2020
As discussed in my last blog post on North American Electric Reliability Corporation—Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) Compliance in Azure, U.S. and Canadian utilities are now free to benefit from cloud computing in Azure for many NERC CIP workloads. Machine learning, multiple data replicas across fault domains, active failover, quick deployment and pay for use benefits are now available for these NERC CIP workloads.
Read More