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CITT approves $40 million in supplemental engineering capacity for Northeast Corridor; trustees seek follow-up accounting
Summary
The Citizens Independent Transportation Trust approved recommendations on March 19 to add $20 million in contract capacity to each of two engineering professional services agreements—HNTB and Parsons—primarily to support Northeast Corridor engineering and federal New Starts work.
The Citizens Independent Transportation Trust voted on March 19 to approve companion resolutions recommending the Board of County Commissioners authorize supplemental agreements that add $20 million to each of two existing professional services agreements for engineering work related to the County’s smart corridors, primarily the Northeast Corridor.
The supplemental agreements would increase contract capacity for HNTB Corporation (Contract CIP215-DTPW19-DE4) and Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. (Contract CIP142-1-TPW16-PE11) by $20,000,000 each. Staff said the money is targeted mainly to the Northeast Corridor’s engineering and New Starts work but acknowledged the supplemental capacity would allow the county to assign additional work orders under those PSAs for other smart-corridor tasks if needed.
"At this point, we're expecting the majority of the $20,000,000 to go directly... towards this," Gabriela Serrado, chief of infrastructure planning and interim program manager for the Northeast Corridor, told trustees when asked how the funds would be allocated. She said the department expected the supplements to provide capacity to take the corridor through the engineering phase toward a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the Federal Transit Administration.
Trustees pressed for financial transparency. Member Schwab asked how much prior work had been billed and requested that the department provide a breakdown of planned and actual expenditures; the executive director agreed to include a financial breakdown as part of the next Northeast Corridor update to the trust. Several trustees said the supplemental language—"Northeast Corridor and other smart corridors"—was broad and could create auditing questions if the funds were later used for other corridors without clear reporting.
Why it matters: The supplements increase the county’s contract capacity on two major engineering PSAs and are meant to prevent schedule delays by ensuring engineering firms can remain engaged through key federal milestones. DTPW staff described roughly $14 million in work orders per firm that are intended to carry the technical work to 2027 and the FFGA milestone; the added $20 million provides contingency and capacity if additional scope arises.
Formal action: The trust approved both companion items (7a and 7b) by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes. Meeting discussion noted that the $40 million is contract capacity, not an automatic cash transfer—work orders must be issued and will be invoiced as services are performed.
Ending: Trustees approved the resolutions but asked DTPW to return at the next Northeast Corridor briefing with a clear accounting of committed versus unspent amounts and an explanation of any future requests for supplemental contract capacity.
